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THE 



HISTORY OF TEXAS; 

HI 



THE EMIGRANT'S, PARMER'S, % 



^:v 



POLITICIAN'S GUIDE 



TO THE 

CHARACTER, CLIMATE, SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS QF 
THAT COUNTRY: 



GEOGRAPHICALLY ARRANGED 



PERSONAL OBSERVATION AND EXPERIENCE. 



BY DAVID B. EDWARD. 

FORMERLY PRINCIPAL OF THE ACADEMY, ALEXANDRIA, LA.; LATE 
PRECEPTOR OF GONZALES SEMINARY, TEXAS. 



CINCINNATI; 

STEREOTYPED AND PUBLISHED BY J. A. JAMES §c CO. 



1836 



o 









Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1836, 

BY J. A. JAMES AND CO., 

In the Clerk's Office for the District Court of Ohio. 

By tocuaaf^r 
OCT 11 19K^ 



Printed by James & Gazlay, 

No. 1, Baker Street, 

Cincinnati, 0. 




TO THE 

AUTHOR'S BEST FRIEND, 
PETER BOLLINGER, ESQ., 

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA. 

Worthy and Respected Sir.- 

Permit me to offer this little volume to thee. In the midst of 
afflictions, in the bonds of despair, thy benevolence to me and 
mine, hath consoled me ; and thy last words, " God bless thee,'''' 
have been as the balm of Gilead to my lacerated heart. When 
that heart shall cease to beat, and when time to me shall be no 
more — then, and not till then, can the gratitude of my soul be 
extinguished ! 

May the blessing of the Lord rest upon thy head — may the 
mercies of our Redeemer surround thee and thine, and may the 
influence of the Holy Spirit guide and direct thy every step 
throughout this transitory vale of mortality — up to the moun- 
tains of everlasting glory, where eternal praises shall resound, 
and unutterable love be the theme ! ! — is the sincere desire and 
fervent prayer of 

Thy affectionate, altho' unfortunate friend, 

D. B. EDWARD. 






mn^^m^-i: o "feA/J <^ ^ 



CONTENTS 



BOOK I. — Geographical DEiiifEATioNS. Page. 

Political Jurisdictions, 13 

Colonial Grants, ------ 14 

Bays and Inlets, - - - - - -17 

Principal Rivers, ------ 20 

Secondary Rivers, - - - - 26 

Towns, 28 

Face of the Country, 35 

BOOK n. — Getsteral Observations. 

Vegetable Beauty and Fertility, - - - 41 

Native Plants, 42 

Minerals, 44 

Articles of Cultivation, ----- 45 

Stock Raising, - 48 

Manufacturing Advantages, - - - - 51 

Commercial Facilities, ----- 52 

Resources and Prospects, ----- 53 

BOOK III. — Water op Texas. 

Water Courses — Fountains, - - - 55 
Sinking of Streams, - - - - - -56 

Overflows, ------- 57 

The Dry Season — Lakes, &c. - - - - 59 

Fish, &c. - 60 

Water Fowl, 61 

BOOK IV. — Timber Lands. 

Prairie, 63 

Woodland, 64 

Trees and Shrabs, ----- 66 

Building Materials, 70 

Fruits, &c. 71 

Wild Animals, ------ 74 

BOOK V.~ Climate. 

Causes of Disease, 77 

Indolence, 78 

Intemperance, ------ gO 

Salubrity, 81 

Changes of Climate, ----- §2 

Upper and Lower Texas, - - - - 86 

Insects and Reptiles, ----- 88 

Moss or Spanish Beard, ----- 89 

BOOK VL — Savages. 

Marauders, ------- 91 

CivilizedTribes — Policy of Whites, - - - 94 

Warriors, 98 

a2 V 



vi CONTENTS. 

Page. 

White Instigators, 100 

A Rencounter, 101 

Subdued Tribes, 104 

Unsubdued Tribes, 106 

Choctaw Tradition, 110 

BOOK VII.— The Mexicans. 

National Character, 115 

Confederation — Population, - - - - 116 

Power, 117 

Worship, 119 

Instruction — Negroes — Mixed Races, - - . - 120 

Whites, 121 

Politics, - - - 123 

Finances, - 129 

Public Lands — Agriculture, - - - - 131 

Commerce — Mines, 133 

Manufactures, 134 

Laws — Army, 136 

Church, 137 

States and Tribes, 139 

Health — Encouragement to Foreigners, - - 140 

Colonization Laws, 142 

Laws of Coahuila and Texas, . - - . 160 

BOOK VIII.— People of Texas. 

Early Settlers, ... - - - 177 

Character of Emigrants, 178 

Innovators, - - - - - - -179 

PoUtical Events, 183 

Secessional Constitution, 196 

Petitions, 206 

Austin's Correspondence, 210 

Party Addresses, 220 

Legislative Proceedings, - - - - - 231 

Official Communications, - . - - 238 

War Faction, 247 

Late Occurrences, 254 

Probable Result, 269 

BOOK IX. — CoNCLUDiirG Reflections. 

Emigration, 271 

Inducements to Emigrants, ... - 278 

Land Impositions, 285 

National ReUgion, 293 

Abuse of Religion, - 295 

Conclusion, 313 

Appendix, 317 

Constitution of the Mexican United States, - 322 



PREFACE 



Worthy Reader, 

Holding the axiom to be self-evident — that a man's dignity ar- 
ises in proportion to his usefulness ; as all nature cries aloud, " that 
its Author never intended there should be such an anomaly as an 
independent beijig; far less man, reasoning man, who, although still 
left after his fall, the lord of the creation, ought in all justice to suffer 
to the utmost extent of that curse, which was annexed to his disobe- 
dience : as a proof thereof he is — as it were to correct the passions 
and to humble the pride of his wayward and stubborn heart — not 
only ushered into this world the most helpless and feeble creature upon 
earth, but afterward continues longer than any other animal, to stand 
in need of assistance from his own species, before he is in any meas- 
ure calculated to prove his superiority over the instinctive brute : — 
surely, then, as all in their turn must be receivers, so should all accor- 
ding to their power be dispensers of those gifts, whether physical or 
mental, which they may possess. 

Viewing it thus, I have taken it upon me to publish a few remarks, 
throwing myself with confidence on the generosity of the practically 
experienced, who, by the independency of their minds have so far 
matured reason as to distinguish at once between the spurious merits 
of the presumptuous, and the genuine worth of the diffident. Still, 
however, it is with no inconsiderable degree of fear that I take upon 
me to perform the task of an author, which, in justice to the feelings 
of a judicious reader, demands the utmost abilities of those who are 
enriched by the superior endowments of nature — and on which en- 
dowments there have been built the ennobling sciences of the schools. 
Such benefits, when united with the experimental knowledge of man- 
kind, so essentially necessary to produce the finished mind, must, when 
rightly directed, not only prove a blessing to the individuals themselves, 
but to countless thousands of their fellow mortals. 

By nature on the side of mediocrity, and by science in the rear, 
it has therefore been by the jostle of mankind, throughout thirty years 
maturing experience in the busy world, that I have been brought to 
such a measure of thought, as to judge cautiously, charitably, and in 
some degree philanthropically of the actions of men. Although I 
have found Avarice, Passion and Prejudice the governing powers 
of this world, yet when we consider man in the abstract, allowing a 
sufficiency of indulgence for the force of education, local habits and 
national customs ; combined with those surrounding circumstances 



Tiii PREFACE. 

over which he can (physically speaking,) have but little or no control, 
hurrynig him through the heat of misguided ambition, so frequently 
into those scenes and to those actions which his cool and reflecting 
judgment so much abhors and detests ; we shall, in a moral point of 
view, find that there are more, much more, of the emotions of virtue 
than vice in his composition. 

I am induced to make these remarks at this time, from the acquain- 
tance I have formed with the people, and with the country of Texas ; 
believing that no country or people, so nearly allied with the republi- 
cans of the North, have ever been less impartially considered ; or 
when spoken of, more unwarrantably exposed to the extremes of cal- 
umny and panegyric : each in its turn creating no little excitement 
in the breasts of those who are anxious to know of things Jwsj; as they 
are, before a movement should be made which might bring disap- 
pointment, if not ruin, in its train. 

Therefore have I covenanted — let the consequence be what it may 
'■ — to steer a neutral course, between the extravagant representations 
of the monopolizing land speculator, and the unwarrantable scurrility 
of the viciously prejudiced — prejudiced because they found wanting 
a capital, as in older countries, and because hardships were to be en 
dured, as in every new country, before idleness could be indulged, 
or luxuries obtained ! 

And to insure the convincement of my reader — I have no lands in 
Texas to sell, although I have lived three years in that country, and 
that, too, on the frontiers ; besides making one of four who explored 
it, in the year 1830, from side to side, and from settlement to settle- 
ment, during the space of six months, without once sleeping within 
the walls of a house. Nay, farther, being under the necessity of vis- 
iting the country in 1835, I had the curiosity to spend six months 
more, in examining the improvements made throughout every locality 
of that extensive province ; in order that none should be able to de- 
tect a falsehood, or prove a material error, which could either mislead, 
or seriously injure those who may put confidence in this work. May 
I not confidently trust then, after expending upwards of one thou- 
sand dollars, in addition to the hardships endured throughout such 
protracted excursions, that the description given will be believed to 
flow from a mind that wishes to be governed by the truth, as far as 
^rese/if circumstances, or ^z<if7ire prospects, from a retrospection of 
the past, will reasonably justify 1 

And as I have taken no interest whatsoever, in the political con- 
tests of that country, therefore, may my readers rest assured, that I 
write with a pen untrammeled by the influence of a party, having 
nothing else in view but my own amu^ment, and the satisfaction of 
my friends. On that account I have prefaced the information on 



PREFACE. ix 

Texas, with a few remarks relative to the migratory progress of the 
JVarrator, previous to the commencement of his present undertaking ; 
as it is believed that they may have some small tendency towards 
drawing the inquiring mind into those cool reflections, which are 
as needful as they are earnestly desired. 



I was born on the fertile banks of the river Tay, in Scotland, North 
Britain ; that classic land of science and renown, where a Wallace 
fought, a Knox preached, and a Scott -wrote; a country only equal- 
ed in its beauty by its salubrity ; adorned by every improvement in 
modern husbandry, through that persevering spirit which animates 
an industrious and comparatively, with the rest of Europe, a free 
and consequently happy people. Lying on the confines of an East- 
ern world, where, by turns, despotism and anarchy reign ; the sym- 
pathetic feelings of sorrow will sometimes predominate in their breasts: 
still as often are their hearts rejoiced within them, to think that they 
have, by the interposition of Providence, a counterpoise in the west- 
ern hemisphere ; accelerated by that free and uninterrupted intercourse 
which they have with the highly gifted and enlightened inhabitants 
thereof, through the influence of that all-powerful and glorious engine 
in the hands of every republican government — a free and fearlesa 
press ! which not only visits the palaces of the great, but enters with 
its all-inspiring beams into the meanest hovel of the peasant ; arous- 
ing him to make the inquiry. Why this mighty difference 1 I say 
it ! and made it my study how I should become a participator of such 
a blessed asylum, as God had provided for the poor and oppressed of 
every other country. 

In consequence of matured reflections thereon, I embarked for the 
new world, and landed in South America ; where I beheld a people 
struggling manfully against the last efforts of expiring tyranny; 
which they happily overcame, even while they were as yet unprac- 
tised in the art of self-government. When such is the result off a 
despised, and in no little degree derided people, what may be expect- 
ed from a union of talents and genuine patriotism, wielded by a self- 
efficient government 1 

It was with no little sorrow then, that I saw a considerable period 
of time would have to elapse, before the Colombians could purge out 
those artful and designing demagogues, who fail not to take the ad- 
vantage of the troubles of their country, whereby they may, under the 
mask of patriotism, (a cloak too often made nse of to cover the 
most diabolical crimes,) ingratiate themselves into the favor of an 
unsteady and wavering multitude. 

Mourning, therefore, over " man's inhumanity to man," I steered 
my course to the States of the North ; where I saw and admired that 



X PREFACE. 

equality which reigns without confusion, and where talent, engrafted 
on virtue — and not wealth united with power — was the ladder 
whereby men could ascend to the highest pinnacle of fame. 

But as the Eternal fiat has gone forth, that perfection shall not be 
found in man, — yea not even in a collective capacity, — it was with 
no small regret notwithstanding, that I found so many political dif- 
ferences abounding. However, considering these differences to con- 
stitute the very acme of national liberty, when they are curbed by the 
allpowerful reign of a universally acknowledged Constitution, — 
which constitution while upheld must continue a copying model to 
all succeeding Republics, as it shows the interesting spectacle of civil 
power and religious dogmas so happily poised, as to create in the 
breast of every man a full confidence in the first, and a sincere love 
for the latter ; — as such I gloried in it ! believing with every 
honest and good patriot, that the superior sense of the people will 
keep them at all times true to themselves ; so much so, as not only to 
teach themselves, but those who may have the hardihood to declare 
for the measures of a dividing party, that they shall not only lose 
their places of profit or honor, (if they ever had any,) but also that 
respect which a genuine republican must ever hold, in the estimation 
of those who well and truly calculate, that every individual con- 
sideration imist give way, in order that unity and peace may undi- 
vided, walk hand in hand throughout every city, town, and village, 
of the American Republic. 

Because, however an aggrievance may arise, or an addition of privi- 
leges would be desirable — a tardy redressing of the first, or even not 
acceding to the last, can never be a just cause of hurling unlimited 
defiance at the fair fabric of expedient confederacy ; — but contrari- 
wise, proving the utility of every change by demonstrative facts, 
giving such cogent reasons as shall by the majority be seen into, and 
of course adopted by reason of their general fitness, and particular 
expediency. 

Having heretofore been somewhat conversant with the farming 
community, I have found that many, yea very many, who are en- 
gaged in that primeval calling, are unable to purchase land at the gov- 
ernment price, in consequence thereof are under the disagreeable ne- 
cessity of putting up with what is generally termed squatting, in 
order to raise their families, which, as a natural consequence, are in 
number on a par with the hardships to be met with in a country life. 
As sure then as the march of improvement presses on, so sure will 
their location be purchased by more wealthy competitors. In that case 
they must, and will move onward from boundary to boundary, as long 
as their pockets are light, and their physical powers good. 

Although the banker, the merchant, or the tradesman, would think 



PREFACE. xi 

light of a hundred dollars, yet let me tell them, that I have seen and 
conversed with more than a hundred worthy and respectable farmers 
on the frontiers, who have raised there some half dozen of sons and 
as many daughters, and that too to maturity, before they ever had the 
amount of one hundred dollars at one time in either of their houses. 

Would not then the general and individual governments, by hav- 
ing throughout pursued a different policy in their landed interest, 
have been equally safe? For instance, supposing that they had, from the 
beginning of their sales, sold the land at its comparative value, in- 
stead of a fixed price, and allowed the already located poor the privi- 
lege of time and payment, — would not the ready money, and the use 
of that money's interest, with the yearly tax from the land-holder, 
have overbalanced the profit arising from a stated sum, against the 
time that sum can be realised ] inasmuch as the lands found in quali- 
ty above par, would (without the shadow of a doubt) make up for 
the deficiency in value, of that which ever can be sold below it ; as 
much, very much of that which is comparatively poor, must upon 
present principles remain for centuries unsold ! 

Besides, such liberal measures could not have failed, at all times, 
to secure a host of hardy and, by thus doing, satisfied and grateful 
yeomanry ; who are with propriety termed the very bones and sinews 
of a nation, as they are its only strength and protection when the 
enemy assails with physical force, in order to subvert and destroy. 
Knowing by experience (especially since I first went to viev/ Texas) 
that the emigration from an old to a new country, is in general of 
those who possess but little, and of course whose substance is almost, 
if not altogether expended in the undertaking ; a government, there- 
fore, which protects and supplies the industrious husbandman with the 
means whereby he can acquire a subsistence, ought assuredly to be 
extolled ! But when a nation or state not only does thus, but invites 
and grants to worthy although poor emigrants, on the most humane 
and considerate terms, a foundation in land, whereby they will be en- 
abled to build up their households in a respectable and independent 
manner, they will not only be extolled, but revered ! and must ulti- 
mately grow into universal esteem and admiration. They cannot 
fail, in a short time, to have such a bulwark reared up, of sturdy and 
grateful men, as no despot ever had the honor to command ; a band 
of brothers, whose emulation in the dangers of the state will be to 
outvie one another in acts of heroism and fidelity, to that government 
and country, wherein they have received such a permanent and last- 
ing interest. 

Upon these premises, then, what should be the feelings of the in- 
habitants of Texas towards the Mexican RepubHc, whose liberality 
to them in lands and otherwise, has been without its parallel in 



xii PREFACE. 

modern days 1 I "have every reason to believe and say, that the 
hearts of the actual — I say actual landholders, and genuine far 
mers, (who are in the duties of that avocation practically engaged,) 
are filled with love and gratitude towards their benefactors ; to such 
an extent, as not only to give them their best wishes for their indi- 
vidual welfare and national prosperity, — but, if ever it should be 
necessary for them to come forward in a more substantial form, it will 
be done with spirit and with power ! Always directed by the motto 
of their political faith, — JYever ending- fidelity to the government 
of that Constitution under -which they became privileged citizens, 
— they voluntarily assume the guardianship of Liberty ; a term which 
in itself expresses much greatness and exaltation, and with whose 
definition the Texasians are pretty well acquainted ; although it is a 
word which covers ambiguities, and under which have been concealed 
many of the darkest and most malignant deeds, that have ever debased 
the character of man ; — wrested, by political adventurers and politi- 
cal fanatics, to the destruction of thousands ; leading them to believe 
that anarchy was order, and party spirit that of patriotism. 




HISTORY OF TEXAS 



BOOK I 



GEOGRAPHICAL DELINEATIONS. 

Texas is a northeastern province of the republic of 
Mexico, lying between the latitudes of 27i- and 85 and 
longitude west of Washington 16^ and 25|. 

It is bounded on the north by Red River, which divides 
it from Arkansas, Ozark District, and New Mexico. On 
the south by the Gulf of Mexico, and the Rio de las 
Nueces, which divides it from the states of Coahuila and 
Tamaulipas. On the east by the eastern branch of the 
river Sabine, and the state of Louisiana. On the west 
by the state of Coahuila and the territory of New Mexico. 
Medium length from north to south, 540 miles. Average 
breadth from east to west 460 miles. Containing an area 
of 150,000 square miles. 

POLITICAL JURISDICTIONS, 

The south and eastern portions of the country, that are 
by nature (and at present by art,) of the most importance, 
are divided into three grand political jurisdictions, to wit : 
Nacogdoches, Brazos, and San Antonio de Bexar. 

Nacogdoches department is bounded on the north by 
Red River. On the south by the Gulf of Mexico. On 
the east by the river Sabine. On the west by the depart- 
ment of Brazos. Length from north to south, 300 miles. 
Average breadth from east to west, 150 miles. 

Brazos department is bounded on the north by the 
northern boundary of Austin and Williams' colony. On 
B 13 



14 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the south by the Gulf of Mexico. On the east by the 
department of Nacogdoches. On the west by the depart- 
ment of Bexar. Length from north to south, 300 miles. 
Average breadth from east to west, 125 miles. 

Bexar department is bounded on the north by the foun- 
tain branch of the Rio Colorado. On the south by the 
Gulf of Mexico. On the east by the department of 

Brazos. On the west by the river Nueces and the state 
of Coahuila. Length from north to south, 300 miles. 
Average breadth from east to west, 175 miles. 

COLONIAL GRANTS. 

These three jurisdictions, and the northwestern part 
of the province, have been subdivided into colonial grants: 
as follows. 

I. In the Jurisdiction of Nacogdoches are Five Grants. 
To wit: 

Zavalla'^s, bounded on the north by Milam's and Fel- 
isola's. On the south by the Mexican Gulf. On the 
east by the river Sabine. On the west by Whelin's 
and Burnet's. Length from north to south, 180 miles. 
Average breadth from east to west, 60 miles. 

Whelin^s, bounded on the north by Burnet's. On the 
south by Galveston Bay. On the east by Zavalla's. On 
the west by Galveston Bay, and Austin's. Length from 
north to south, 150 miles. Average breadth from east to 
west, 40 miles. 

Burnet'' s, bounded on the north by Felisola's. On the 
south by Whelin's and Austin's. On the east by Zaval- 
la's. On the west by Austin and Williams^ Length 
from east to west, 90 miles. Average breadth from north 
to south, 50 miles. 

Felisola''s, bounded on the north by Milam's, Cameron's, 
and part of the unappropriated lands. On the south by 
Zavalla's, and Burnet's. On the east by Milam's. On 
the west by Austin and Williams', and unappropriated 
lands. Average length from east to west, 90 miles. 
Average breadth from north to south, 50 miles. 

Milarn's, bounded on the north by Red River. On the 
south by Zavalla's, and Felisola's. On the east by 



COLONIAL GRANTS. 16 

Louisiana, and Red River. On the west by Felisola's, 
and Cameron's. Length from southeast to northwest, 160 
miles. Breadth from northeast to southwest, GO miles. 

n. In the Jurisdiction of Brazos are Three Grants. 
To wit: 

Austin's first grant, bounded on the north by Austin 
and Williams', and Austin's second grant. On the south 
by the Mexican Gulf, Galveston and Matagorda Bays. 
On the east by Whelin's, and the bay of Galveston. On 
the west by De Witt's, and De Leon's. Length from 
north to south, 150 miles. Breadth from east to west, 
120 miles. 

Austin''s second grant, bounded on the north by Austin 
and Williams'. On the south by Austin's and De Witt's. 
On the east by Austin and Williams'. On the west by 
Austin and Williams', and the department of Bexar. 
Average length from north to south, 60 miles. Average 
breadth from east to west, 60 miles. 

Austin and Williams^, bound on the north by unappro- 
priated lands. On the south by Austin's first and second 
grants, and the department of Bexar. On the east by 
by Felisola's and Burnet's. On the west by Cameron's 
second grant, Woodbury and Co.'s, and Bexar depart- 
ment. Average length from north to south, 180 miles. 
Average breadth from east to west, 140 miles. 

III. In the Jurisdiction of Bexar are Five Grants. To 
wit : 

De Witt''s, bounded on the north by Austin's second 
grant. On the south by De Leon's. On the east by 
Austin's first grant. On tha west by the department of 
Bexar. Length from north to south, 100 miles. Average 
breadth from east to west, 40 miles. 

De Leon's, bounded on the north by De Witt's and 
Bexar department. On the south by Matagorda and Es- 
piritu Santo Bays. On the east by Matagorda Bay, and 
La Baca River, which divides it from Austin's first grant. 
On the west by Powers', and Espiritu Santo Bay. Length 
from north to south, 50 miles. Breadth from east to 
west, 25 miles. 

Bexar department, bounded on the north by Austin and 



16 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Williams', and Woodbury and Co.'s. On the south by 
De Leon's, and Powers', On the east by De Witt's, 
Austin's second grant, and Austin and Williams'. On 
the west by Woodbury and Co.'s, M'MuUen and M'Glone's. 
Average length from north by west to southeast, 225 
miles. Average breadth from northeast to southwest, 65 
miles. 

Powers', bounded on the north by the department of 
Bexar, and M'Mullen and M'Glone's. On the south by 
the Mexican Gulf, Aransaso and Espiritu Bays. On the 
east by De Leon's. On the west by the bay of Corpus 
Christi, and the Rio de las Nueces. Length from north- 
east to southwest, 35 miles. Breadth from north to south, 
30 miles. 

WMullen and M''Glone^s, bounded on the north by the 
department of Bexar, and Woodbury and Co.'s. On the 
south by Powers', and the river Nueces. On the east 
by the Bexar department. On the west by the Rio de 
las Nueces. Length from northwest to southeast, 220 
miles. Average breadth from northeast to southwest, 60 
miles. 

IV. In the Northwestern parts of the Province are 
Three Grants. To wit: 

Cameron's first grant, bounded on the north by Red 
River. On the south by unappropriated lands. On the 
east by Milam's, and Felisola's. On the west by unap- 
propriated lands. Length from east to west, 300 miles. 
Breadth from north to south, 70 miles. 

Cameron's second grant, bounded on the north by un- 
appropriated lands. On the south by Woodbury and 
Co.'s. On the east by Austin and Williams'. On the 
west by unappropriated lands. Length from east to west; 
120 miles. Average breadth from north to south, 40 miles. 

Woodbury and Co.''s, bounded on the north by Cam- 
eron's, and unappropriated lands. On the south by the 
department of Bexar, M'Mullen and M'Glone's, and the 
state of Coahuila. On the east by Austin and Williams', 
and the department of Bexar. On the west by the state 
of Coahuila. Average length from east to west, 150 
miles. Average breadth from north to south, 100 miles. 



BAYS AND INLETS. 17 

Unappropriated lands, bounded on the north by Came- 
ron's first grant, and Red River. On the south by Feliso- 
la's second grant, and Woodbury and Go's. On the east 
by Cameron's first grant, Felisola's, Austin and Williams', 
and Cameron's second grant. On the west by New Mex 
ico, and the state of Coahuila. Length from east to west, 
350 miles. Average breadth from north to south, 75 
miles. 

A portion of Bexar department, has of late been grant 
ed to Benjamin R. Milam. It will be located between 
the Colorado and Guadalupe rivers, in latitude 30 and 31 
on the most elevated lands in the province, combining, in 
an eminent degree, all the elements necessary to make it 
one of the greatest grazing, agricultural, and manufactur- 
ing districts in the country; and within its limits it will 
embrace the silver mines of San Saba. 

BAYS AND INLETS. 

On the Gulf coast of Texas between the Sabine and 
Nueces rivers, a distance of 250 miles, there are five 
bays, and two particular inlets. To wit: 

Lake Sabine Inlet, which mouths into the Gulf in lati- 
tude 29 deg. 30 min. Longitude 16 deg. 55 min. The 
inlet to this lake is ten miles long, and has four feet of 
water on its bar, in the lowest stages of the river; but 
the lake is difficult to cross, owing to the mud and oyster 
banks which extend from side to side, in such a zig-zag 
manner, as to leave it almost passable in a dry season on 
foot. 

Galveston Bay, whose east pass is in latitude 29 deg. 
15 min. Longitude — Washington, 17 deg. 30 min. — 
Greenwich, 94 deg. 30 min. West pass, latitude 29 deg. 
5 min. Longitude 18 deg. 5 min. 

Galveston Island, (San Luis,) whose length from north- 
east to southwest is thirty six miles, and averaging three 
miles in breadth from northwest to southeast, lies between 
these two inlets. The face of this island presents at once 
a dry, barren, sandy waste ; with but little on it to relieve 
the eye of the mariner, except it be a cluster of some 
three solitary trees, which stand near its west end. How- 
b2 



18 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ever, as it stretches along the coast in front of the Bay, 
it arrests the surges of the Gulf, and forms a secure and 
commodious harbor within, adequate to all the ordinary 
purposes of commerce. 

On entering the east pass, which is about half a mile 
in width, and from twelve to fourteen feet in depth, we 
come to the main harbor, which is protected on the north 
by Point Bolivar, a promontory of considerable elevation 
on the main land, projecting from the east; and Pelican 
Island, which is of but little consequence otherwise, than 
to assist in forming this spacious harbor, in which there is 
a good anchorage of from three to five fathoms water, 
with muddy bottom. 

From Pelican Island to the northeast point of the Bay, 
a distance of some sixty miles, by twenty-five in medium 
breadth, the depth of water varies from nine to three feet. 
An arm of Galveston, called East Bay, extends from 
Point Bolivar along the coast twenty miles, at the head of 
which there is a deep tide water creek, that nearly in- 
tersects a similar creek from Sabine. 

A western arm of this bay also stretches along the 
coast from Pelican Island to within two and a half miles 
of the Brazos river. The west pass enters into the cen- 
ter of this arm, opposite the mouth of Chocolate creek, 
and has from four to six feet water on its bar. 

Brazos Inlet is in latitude 28 deg. 52 min. Longitude 
18 deg. 28 min. The bar of this inlet is about twenty 
yards wide, with about six feet of water on it in all ordi- 
nary seasons. 

The anchorage of this bar is good in north winds which 
blow off* shore, or in light southerly winds ; as the bottom 
is .blue mud with three fathoms of water immediately off" 
the bar, about six hundred yards from the beach, gradual- 
ly deepening as you recede from the shore. The harbor 
inside the bar is perfectly safe in all weathers, and the 
river is sufficiently deep, at its lowest stages, to carry the 
largest coasting trader for sixty miles inland. 

Matagorda Bay — whose main pass lies in the latitude 
of 28 deg. 18 min., and longitude 19 deg. 10 min. — has 
from ten to twelve feet of water over its bar, and a com- 



I BAYS AND INLETS. 19 

modious harbor within it, with a perfectly safe anchorage 
in from three to four fathoms of water, opposite the oyster 
peninsula of Matagorda. This bay in its greatest breadth 
from north to south is only sixteen miles, but its length 
from northeast to southwest, is sixty miles; while its 
depth of water as you approach its shores varies from eight 
to three feet. 

Espiritu Santo and Aransaso Bays, properly speaking, 
are but one Bay, whose main pass is in latitude 28 deg. 
Longitude 19 deg. 25 min. The water over the bar of 
this pass — and from it to within one mile of the west end 
of Aransaso, varies from four to six feet; and from the cen- 
ter of Espiritu, opposite the pass northward, the channel 
is broken and difficult, having opposite the mouth of San 
Antonio and Guadalupe rivers, but from two to three feet 
water. Espiritu Santo Bay is connected by a small gut 
of eight miles in length with the bay of Matagorda, ena- 
bling it to form a low, salt cane, marshy island, of from 
two to five miles in breadth and twenty-six in length, be- 
tween it and the Gulf. The connection between the two 
bays of Aransaso, and Espiritu Santo, enables them to 
form equidistant on both, a low, sandy, bitter-weed island, 
of nearly six miles in breadth and twenty-four in length; 
leaving a narrow and shallow pas^ between its west point 
and the main land, from Aransaso Bay. The Gulf turns 
abruptly at this place, from out of its usual course of south 
by west, to that of south by east. 

Corpus Ckristi, the pass of Rio de las Nueces, is situa- 
ted in latitude 27 deg. 30 min. and Washington longitude 
19 deg. 40 min. There is about four feet depth of water 
over the bar of this pass, inside of which there is good an- 
chorage, in two fathoms water. 

Nueces Bay is formed out of two arms of the Braso San- 
tiago Bay, which lies north of the mouth of the Rio Bravo, 
extending itself in a narrow shallow course of no conse- 
quence, for seventy-five miles along the coast, until it 
meets the waters of the Nueces, opposite the pass of Cor- 
pus Christi. From thence one arm extends west twenty 
miles, and the other north twenty-five miles, leaving but 



20 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

u small space between it and the south west head of Aran 

saso Bay. 

PRINCIPAL RIVERS. 

The principal rivers in Texas, according to their im- 
portance, and which require three miles in their windings, 
to one of straight chain distance, — are the Brazos, Colo- 
rado, Trinidad, Guadalupe, Sabine, San Antonio, Rio de 
las Nueces, and Naches. 

The name of the Brazos, (in the Spanish language, 
'El Brazos de Dios' — the arm of God!) is significant of 
its character J it being placid and beneficent in repose — 
mighty and terrible in wrath. The sources of this river 
take their rise in the unappropriated prairie lands of the 
northwestern part of the province, and in Cameron's first 
grant. Thence it passes through the eastern part of Aus- 
tin and Williams' grant and the eastern half of Austin's 
first grant, emptying its contents into the Mexican Gulf, 
after running a southeast course of six hundred miles. 

The principal branches of this river as we ascend it on 
the east, are Buffalo, Pond, Walnut, Navasoto, Little Bra- 
zos, Tahuacaro, Noland, Red Fork, Tierras Blancas, In- 
coque, Tosohunova, and Timpisarahca. On the west, are 
Varner, Cow, Big, Palmito, Piney, Caney, Cedar, New 
Year, Yegua, Mulberry, Cedar, Clampit, San Andres, 
Deer, Cow, Bosque, Cedral, Palo Pinto, Tahcajunova, 
Taray, and Keriachehunova. 

Its main western branch falls into a salt lake, which is 
situated in latitude 33 degrees, and in longitude 23 deg. 
20 min. 

Around this lake to a vast extent, the land is charged 
with mineral salt, on which nitre is deposited by the at- 
mosphere. The rains dissolve this salt. When in the 
dry season the water is evaporated, the salt is deposited 
in immense quantities, and the whole plain is covered 
with crystalized salt. When on the other hand the rains 
are copious and extensive, a shallow, temporary lake is 
formed, which discharges its briny water into the Brazos j 
and the freshet produced by the overflowing of this lake, 
renders the whole river for a while, brackish. This brack- 
ishnesa or slight saltish taste, must continue, until a 



PRINCIPAL RIVERS. 21 

freshet, produced by the fresh water branches, washes it 
away. 

The waters of the Brazos are generally placid and gen- 
tle, inasmuch as its main trunk and its numerous branches 
pass through a larger extent of level prairie country than 
any other river in the province. But on the contrary, 
after a plentiful fall of rain in the upper country, its wa- 
ters pour down in torrents, impregnated with such an 
infusion of red clay, as to render it literally the Red river 
of Texas, and the wrathful tyrant ; although it seldom car- 
ries away its banks, as they are either a red or blue clay, 
as slippery as soap, and remarkably adhesive. 

The banks of the Brazos, for an extent of two hundred 
miles, from its mouth to its falls, range in depth from twen- 
ty to forty feet,- and in all ordinary seasons, the one half 
of these banks is generally under water for two-thirds of 
the year. Of course then, there could be, by the bends 
of the river, a steamboat navigation, of from fire to six 
hundred miles in length. 

And was the bar removed at the entrance, ships draw- 
ing sixteen feet water, could ascend as far as Columbia, 
fifty miles from its mouth. And this might be easily ac- 
complished, as the substratum beneath the sand of the 
bar is blue clay, as is also that between it and the beach. 
This clay would afford a solid foundation for piling, by 
which the channel of the river might be contracted over 
the bar, and thus as deep and safe a passage as the river 
itself would be made. 

The Colorado, whose sources take their rise in Came • 
ron's second grant, and in Woodbury and Co.'s grant, in 
the western part of the province, passes through between 
Austin and Williams' grant, and Milam's new grant; 
through the center of Austin's second grant, and the west- 
ern half of Austin's first grant; emptying its contents into 
the eastern head of Matagorda Bay ; after running a south- 
east course of four hundred miles. 

The principal branches of this river, as we ascend it on 
the east, are Cummins', Duty, Rabb, Pine, Honey, Hunt- 
ing, Bear, Pecan, Wisshauea, Pasigono, and Pisapejunova. 
On the west, are Jennings', Rails', Scull, Williams', Buck- 



22 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ner, Pine, Lo Bonilio, Garapatos, Piedernales, Sabinas, 
San Jose, Almagro, San Saba, and Picdra Pinta. 

The waters of the Colorado, are generally rapid in their 
course, by reason of the main trunk, and its numerous 
branches, passing through a larger extent of undulated 
and mountainous country, than any other river in the 
province. 

The bed of this river is crossed in many places by flag- 
stone rocks of a calcareous nature, making it in a dry sea- 
son, difficult to navigate for any distance above the level 
prairie lands of the Gulf coast. However, it is but sel- 
dom that small craft, of one hundred tons burden or so, 
could not ascend to its falls, which in a moderate stage of 
water are many, — commencing about one hundred and 
fifty miles from its mouth, and disappearing from time to 
time as the freshets rise. When that is the case, as it 
frequently is, there would be no other obstruction to the 
largest vessels, than that of drift wood; which (as well as 
the pleasant taste of its waters,) makes it the Mississippi 
of Texas. 

The broken and hilly country through which the upper 
half of the Colorado river and its branches flow, naturally 
creates so many falls, of such magnitude, and of such util- 
ity for the purposes of art, as can be but seldom met with in 
any country; inasmuch as they are placed above obstruc- 
tion by overflows at all seasons of the year. The banks 
of the Colorado are confined but steep ; and although often 
charged with a current thirty feet in depth, are seldom 
overflowed. Of course there are no cut-oflfs, and but rare- 
ly such a thing as caving in. 

The Trinidad takes its rise in the northeast of Texas, 
near Red River, in Cameron's first grant, passing through 
Felisola's grant, the western half of Burnet's grant, and 
the western division of Whelin's grant ; emptying its con- 
tents, through five mouths, into the northeast head of 
Galveston Bay, after having run a southeast course of three 
hundred miles. 

The principal branches of this river, as we ascend it on 
the east, are Turtle, Self, Big Cushatte, Little Cushatte, 
Hickory, Walnut, Hurricane, Little Prairie, and Big Prai- 



PRINCIPAL RIVERS. 23 

rie. On the west, are Old, Oak, Cushatte, Bidais, Bear, 
Triad, and Cross Timbers. 

The waters of Trinidad usually (low in a smooth and 
gentle current, through level plains of prairie lands, unin- 
terrupted by falls, even in the lowest stages of water. 
The banks of this river, like the Brazos and Colorado, are 
in general of a stiff clayish nature ; narrow and steep, by 
reason of their being seldomer carried away than ad- 
ded to. 

Vessels drawing such a depth of water as would enable 
them to cross Galveston Bay — taking the proper periods 
— could ascend, during one half of each year, one hundred 
and fifty miles up this river, although its serpentine course 
will ever be unfavorable to steamboats. 

The Guadalupe takes its rise in the western highlands 
of Texas, between the district of San Antonio de Bexar, 
and Milam's new grant; passing on between Austin's sec- 
ond grant and the department of Bexar, then through the 
western half of De Witt's grant and the eastern half of 
De Leon's; uniting itself with the Rio de San Antonio, 
ten miles from the northwestern head of Espiritu Santo 
Bay. 

The waters of Guadalupe, from its head branches, 
throughout its whole southeastern course of two hundred 
and fifty miles, to its mouth in Espiritu Santo, are limpid, 
pleasant, and nutritive. 

The principal branches of this river, as we ascend it on 
the east, are Tehocote, Peach, San Marcos, Cedro, and 
Piedras. On the west, are Coleto, Cachillo, Carizo, 
Fountain, and Sabinas. 

There are some good falls on the head branches of the 
Guadalupe, but few to be seen in the main trunk, except 
when the water is in its very lowest stage, which is but 
seldom; since for uniformity of depth, during half the year, 
it equals, if not surpasses, any other river in the country. 

Were it not for the circular bends of this river, which 
create a rapidity in the current, it would be easy for any 
kind of sailing craft to move on it, through its gentle de 
clivity of one hundred and fifty miles, to its mountain 
falls. Nevertheless, the Rio Guadalupe would have been 



24 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

a useful river had it terminated in Matagorda Bay, instead 
of the uncommonly shallow bay with which it is cciinect- 
ed ; but as it is, its banks, thirty feet deep, may overflow, 
and its waters may roll majestically down, without being 
of much service. 

The Rio Sabine, the eastern and longest branch of 
Lake Sabine, heads in the eastern part of Texas, between 
Milam's first grant and Felisola's grant, passing east be- 
tween Milam's first grant and Zavalla's grant, to longi- 
tude 17 deg., and latitude 32 deg. ; where it commences the 
boundary line between Louisiana and Texas, running a 
southeast course to the thirty-first degree, afterwards a 
southwest course until it terminates in Lake Sabine. 

From the commencement of the River Sabine's head 
branch, to its termination in the northeast half of Lake Sa- 
bine, is a distance of one hundred and fifty miles ; but in 
starting from the Mexican Gulf, after its length as a boun- 
dary line, we shall find it something like two hundred miles 
in extent; and one hundred and fifty of that, for two-thirds 
of the year, navigable for larger vessels than can cross the 
lake, between its narrow banks and the Gulf 

The main branches of the Sabine as we ascend it on 
the west, are Bevil, Adams', Cypress, Big Cow, Little 
Cow, Palogatcho, Patron, Tanaha, and Cherokee. 

Sabine river has as much, if not more uniformity in the 
depth of its waters, than any other river in Texas, by rea- 
son of its heading but a short distance in a prairie coun- 
try, and being afterwards fed from the spring mountain 
rills of its undulated country to the west; therefore it is 
seldom that its banks, of some twenty feet depth, are over- 
flowed. 

Rio de San Antonio takes its name and consequence 
from four mountain springs, a few miles northeast of Bex- 
ar, whence it rolls in a clear translucent stream, over a 
pebbly bed, until it meets the waters of the Madina, twen- 
ty miles from its fountain head. 

The Madina, which is in fact the main trunk of the 
San Antonio, flows from the southeast corner of Woodbury 
and Co.'s grant, in the west of Texas, and passes down 
the western half of Bexar department and De Leon's 



PRINCIPAL RIVERS. 26 

grant; flowing a course of two hundred miles, before it 
joins the river Guadakipe, ten miles from the northwest 
point of Espiritu Santo Bay. 

Its branches as we ascend it on the east, are Manahuil- 
la, Cabeza, Aqua de Ojo, Cleto, Gibolo, Marcelino, Cala- 
beras, Salado, Leon, Medio, Potranca, Saus, San Jeronimo, 
La Sequia, and Puerto de la Bandera. On the west it 
has no branches of importance. 

The San Antonio labors under the same disadvantage, 
as the river Guadalupe, having a shallow bay at its mouth. 
Were it otherwise, it would, in ordinary seasons, bear on 
its waters, vessels of considerable importance, one hundred 
and twenty miles, from its mouth to its conjunction with 
the river Madina. 

The banks of the San Antonio are narrow and deep, 
and have in the dry season a red appearance, owing to 
the large extent of bluff prairie which makes up to the 
margin of the stream. 

Rio de las Nueces takes its commencement from Texas 
and Coahuila's southwest mountain spurs, running a course 
of two hundred and fifty miles southeast, before it joins 
the southwest head of Nueces Bay; from which bay, it is 
navigable for small craft, for upwards of one hundred 
miles. 

The main branches of the Nueces, as we ascend it from 
the east, are Nombre de Dios, San Leandro, La Para, Rio 
Frio, and Tortuga. 

Nueces Bay, and river, is the acknowledged boundary 
line, as far as it goes, between the state of Coahuila and 
Texas; but by reason of its passing through a long line of 
barren prairie, it will never be of much consequence oth- 
erwise, 

Rio Naches takes its beginning in the northern parts of 
Burnet's grant, passing through the northeast corner of 
Whelin's grant, and descends through the center of Zaval- 
la's grant, until it empties into the northwest corner of Sa- 
bine Lake. 

The main branches of the Naches, as we ascend it on 
the east, are Ayish Bayou, Amoladeros, Atoyac, Augline, 
Nana, Loco, Big Salt, and Little Salt, On the west, are 

C 



26 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Charles, Big Alabama, Little Alabama, Pine, San Pedro, 
and Burnet's. 

This river is, at its mouth, and for fifty miles upwards, 
the largest branch of the Sabine Lake. It is navigable, 
at all times, for such craft as can cross the lake, one hun- 
dred miles inland; and is, in its whole length, one hun- 
dred and fifty miles. 

The Naches is a pleasant river, of a gentle current, 
with but few obstructions in it, either by falls or sand 
bars J and, as it flows through a broken country of but nar- 
row extent, its banks are but seldom overflowed. 

SECONDARY RIVERS. 

The secondary rivers in Texas, according to their im- 
portance — only requiring two miles in their v/indings, 
to one mile of straight chain distance — are the San Ja- 
cinto, Navedad, Buffalo, La Baca, San Bernard, and Cane. 

San Jacinto, after a course of seventy-five miles, 
through the eastern part of Austin's first grant, meets the 
waters of the Buffalo, and falls into a prong of Galveston 
Bay's northwest point; and is navigable, thirty-five miles, 
for such craft as can pass through the upper end of Gal- 
veston Bay. 

The banks of this stream are deep, and its branches 
few; therefore it seldom overflows; although in southerly 
winds the waters of the Bay back its current for some dis- 
tance ; giving it a brackish taste, until either the river over- 
flows, or the north winds drive back the waves of the 
Bay. 

The Navedad, on the western side of Austin's first grant, 
after a course of one hundred miles, meets the La Baca, 
twelve miles from the southwest head of Matagorda Bay; 
and is navigable to the junction, for all vessels which can 
ascend to the upper side of that bay. 

The waters of this river meander through an undulated 
country, and are rapid in their course, over beds of lime- 
stone rock and sandy gravel. It is subject to sudden over- 
flows, from the surface waters of the many rolling prairies 
in its neighborhood. 

Buffalo Bayou takes its rise from many a prairie branch. 



SECONDARY RIVERS. 27 

in the eastern part of Austin's first grant. Its longest 
branch is forty miles from the mouth of the Bayou, at its 
junction with the San Jacinto. This Bayou is both deep 
in its waters and placid in its current, as far inland as 
twenty miles above the tide water of Galveston Bay. 

La Baca takes its commencement in the northern di- 
visions of Austin's first grant and De Witt's grant, serv- 
ing as their dividing line, throughout a southwest course 
of seventy-five miles; then it is the boundary line between 
Austin's first grant and De Leon's grant, until it meets 
the Navedad, after a run of eighteen miles more. This 
is a beautiful narrow stream, often shallow, but never dry, 
as it is supported by springs, even to its extreme head ; so 
that its waters are at all times pleasant, cool, and refreshing. 

San Bernard begins in the centre of Austin's first 
grant, nearly equidistant from the branches of the 
Brazos and Colorado, in the north central division of the 
grant, one hundred miles from its mouth, which enters the 
Mexican Gulf, twelve miles west of the Brazos. 

Were it not for the shallowness of the bar, which is 
only three feet deep at the mouth of this river, vessels 
drawing six feet water could almost at any season as- 
cend it forty miles, twenty of which it rises and falls 
with the Mexican Gulf tides. 

Cane is a large creek, sixty miles in length, that heads 
near the Colorado on its east side, and passes by the 
northeast head of Matagorda Bay, within a less distance 
than one mile, before it enters the Gulf stream. It can 
be navigated by small craft, drawing four feet water, two 
thirds of the year, over thirty miles inland from the Gulf 
of Mexico. 

The small but useful rivers in Texas, according to their 
importance, are Wishetaw, Aransaso, Sulphur Fork, and 
Chocolate. 

Wishetaw is a south branch of Red River, collecting 
its waters from the northwestern prairie lands of Cam- 
eron's first grant; and can be entered by steamboats, twelve 
miles from its mouth. 

Aransaso gathers its waters from the southeast point of 
M'Mullen and M'Glone's grant, and the southwestern lands 



28 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

of Bexar department. Vessels of such draught as can 
enter the northeast prong of Aransaso Bay, can also enter 
this river six miles, about the seventh part of its whole 
length. 

Sulphur Fork is a southwest branch of Red River, 
above the raft, in the lands of Milam's grant. Its branches 
are long, but its main trunk is of little importance, except 
near its entrance into Red River. 

Chocolate, opposite the west pass of Galveston Bay, is 
some twenty miles long, of a narrow channel; but its 
waters are of equal depth for ten miles with the western 
arm of Galveston Bay. 

TOWNS OF TEXAS. 

Beginning with those of its eastern jurisdiction. 

Nacogdoches, the capital of that department, is situated 
in the northwest of Zavalla's colony, sixty miles west of 
the river Sabine, on the road leading to Natchitoches, state 
of Louisiana; from which it is distant one hundred and 
ten miles. Its site is in latitude 31 deg. 36 min. and Ion 
gitude 17 deg. 36 min. 

Nacogdoches is peculiarly situated, in a romantic dell, 
surrounded by woody bluffs, of considerable eminence, 
within whose inner borders, in a semicircle embracing the 
town, flow the two translucent forks of the Nana, a branch 
of the Naches. 

It is a flourishing town, containing from eight hundred 
to one thousand actual citizens, although it generally pre- 
sents twice that number, on account of its extensive in- 
land trade, one half of which is supported by the friendly 
Indians. The healthiness of this town yields to none in 
the province, except Bexar, and to none whatsoever south 
of the same latitude, between the Sabine and Mississippi. 

The soil around it is of an easy nature, well adapted 
for gardening; and the lands of the whole district fit for 
the plow, are in general good^ particularly those of the 
northeastern and southwestern sections of this jurisdiction. 

San Augustine — situated on the Ayish Bayou, an 
eastern branch of the river Naches, fifteen miles west of 
the Sabine, and forty-five miles east of Nacogdoches. Its 



TOWNS. 29 

site is pleasant, and its improvement more rapid and flour- 
ishing than any other town in Texas, at the present dayj 
inasmuch as it is placed in the center of one of the richest 
landed districts in the whole province, peculiarly red in 
its texture, and loamy in its qualities. 

Anahuac — at present the third town of importance in 
the district of Nacogdoches, destined at no distant period 
to be the first, on account of its superior advantages j be- 
ing located on a beautiful, high level prairie bluff, south- 
east of Galveston Bay, opposite the mouths of Trinidad 
river, in a comparatively pleasant and healthy situation. 

Liberty — whose location is beautifully situated on the 
east side of the Trinidad, thirty miles from tiie mouth of 
that river, and eighty miles from the Sabine, by the road 
leading to Opelousas, Louisiana. 

The site of this town is on a light but prolific soil, su- 
perior to any in the district for its horticultural qualities; 
and, like that of Anahuac, is the most pleasant and pic- 
turesque town situation in Whelin's colony. 

There are several other town sites, already laid out in 
the jurisdiction of Nacogdoches, particularly on the 
Naches, in Zavalla's colony, southeast of Nacogdoches; 
and in Whelin's colony, on the Trinidad, northwest of 
Liberty. These towns, by their position on navigable 
waters, must increase rapidly. 

Besides th9se already laid out, there are many other 
town positions, of a superior nature, in this department, 
particularly in the southern section, such as Bolivar Point; 
the southwest end of Lake Sabine; and between the 
mouths of the river Sabine and Naches ; also at the mouth 
of the Sulphur Fork, in Milam's colony; and on the banks 
of the Trinidad, in Felisola's colony ; as well as in Bur- 
net's colony, on the same river, and its branches. 

San Felipe de Austin — capital of the Brazos jurisdic- 
tion, in Austin's first colony, one hundred and seventy- 
five miles southwest of Nacogdoches, on the road leadiug 
from Natchitoches, Louisiana, and eighty miles from Lib- 
erty, by the road leading to Opelousas in the same state. 
Its site is in latitude 29 deg. 50 min. Long. 19 deg. 5 min. 

This town contains from four hundred to six hundi'ed 



30 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

citizens, who are pleasantly situated on the southwest 
margin of the river Brazos, and on the northeast side of 
an extensive prairie, the soil of which is of a marly nature, 
so mixed with sand, as to be well adapted for the scientific 
orchardist and the industrious gardener; and the land of 
its extensive level neighborhood, is not only in general 
fat, but friable, and of a generous nature, in its returns to 
the cultivator. 

Columbia is the second, but must soon be the first town 
of the Bi-azos department, by reason of its location ; being 
placed on the southwest end of the first prairie eminence, 
on the west side of the river Brazos, above the Gulf, one 
mile and a quarter from what may be termed the upper 
sea-port landing of that river. 

This town commands the trade throughout the whole 
season, of one of the most extensive, unbroken countries 
in the province ; which is as famed for its growth of cot- 
ton, as it cannot fail in after days to be for sugar. Al- 
though it is in general a black stiff" soil, yet as it is often 
agreeably mixed with sand, it is not so stubborn to the 
plow, as its first appearance would indicate. 

Brazoria, twelve miles below Columbia, on the same side 
of the Brazos, has heretofore been, and is yet, of considera- 
ble consequence; but cannot long remain so, by reason 
of its proximity to Columbia, and the lowness of its situa- 
tion; being subject to overflows in a particularly wet sea- 
son; although the clearing away, and improving of its 
widely spread timber bottoms, will support its continuance 
in some measure, as a carrying place. 

Matagorda — the third particular town in the Brazos 
department, destined in after days, not far distant, to be 
its second, by reason of its commercial and healthy situa- 
tion ; being laid out on a prairie bluflf, which makes up to 
the northeast side of Matagorda Bay and the southeast side 
of Colorado river. 

This town is improving rapidly, as it is by far the most 
healthy, airy, and agreeable spot on the sea-board of 
the province, bidding fair to rival Columbia as a port of 
entry ; having a large extent of surrounding country, per- 
fectly level, and moderately rich; and if not quite of such 



TOWNS. 31 

a woody and luxuriant nature as the Columbian division of 
the country, yet its soil is much lighter, and easier to cul- 
tivate. 

Harrishurg — on the south side of Buffalo Bayou, in 
Brazos department, forty-five miles southeast of San 
Felipe, chiefly supported by the pine lumber trade of its 
district, as the soil around it is light, and more adapted for 
grazing than culture. 

Bastrop — situated on the east side of Colorado river, 
between Austin's first colony and his second, seventy 
miles north by west from the town of Matagorda, and the 
most rapidly increasing town in the interior of the pro- 
vince, with the exception of San Augustine in the Nacog- 
doches department. 

Tinoxtitlan — a thriving town on the west of the Bra- 
zos, ninety miles north by west from San Felipe, in Aus- 
tin and Williams' colony, jurisdiction of Brazos. 

Nashville — situated on the Brazos river, in Austin and 
Williams' colony, at the great falls, two hundred and 
twenty-five miles from the mouth of that river. 

There are many other town locations surveyed off, be- 
sides those mentioned in this partial description of the 
Brazos jurisdiction; such as Velasco, situated at the mouth 
of the Brazos, on the east side of that river; Marion, the 
river port of Columbia; Orizimbo, on the west side of the 
Brazos, twelve miles above Columbia; Bolivar, on the 
east side of the river Brazos, still farther up; and Fort 
settlement, on the west side of the Brazos, half way be- 
tween Columbia and San Felipe ; Washington, on the east 
side of the Brazos, forty miles above San Felipe; Lynch- 
burg, at the junction of San Jacinto, and Buffalo Bayou; 
and Montezuma, on the east side of the Colorado, twenty- 
five miles west of San Felipe, on the San Antonio de 
Bexar road. 

In addition to all those already mentioned, there are 
others on the upper Brazos, on the Colorado, and on the 
San Jacinto, with many other beautiful and eligible situa- 
tions, which will be adopted, as the country fills with in- 
habitants, and necessity requires; such as the Navasoto 
springs, whose medicinal qualities have been of late so 



32 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

well attested, as to draw such a concourse of invalids, as 
must of course prove a stimulant for tho>ie interested to 
commence a town. 

Navasoto sulphur springs are situated in the northeast 
corner of Austin's first colony, sixty-five miles northeast 
of San Felipe, on the Navasoto, an eastern branch of the 
river Brazos, in a beautifully agreeable, undulated, and 
healthy part of the country, containing as yet , (especially 
on the north, and west,) plenty of wild game of many 
kinds. What peculiar complaints are removed by these 
springs, has not as yet been particlarly examined into by 
the writer, but, as he has met with many, who after they 
had tasted them, have extolled them to the highest de- 
gree, he must believe, that when analyzed by scientific 
men, these waters will be found of a superior quality. 

Bexar, formerly San Antonio, capital of the Bexar ju- 
risdiction, in the department of Bexar, one hundred and 
sixty-five miles, west by south of San Felipe, and one 
hundred and ten miles from the river Nueces, by the road 
leading to Leona Vicario, formerly Saltillo, capital of 
Coahuila. Its situation is in latitude 29 deg. 26 min. 
Longitude 21 deg. 38 min. 

This town contains from twelve hundred, to fifteen 
hundred citizens, exclusive of garrison soldiers, and trad- 
ing peddlers of every description, who resort to it from 
the borders of the Rio Grande, as their nearest depot of 
American goods. 

Its site is one of the most beautiful in the western 
world — its air salubrious — its water delightful — and the 
health of its citizens proverbial! The soil around it is 
light, but prolific, being capable of irrigation ; and the land 
of the whole department is well calculated for cotton, corn, 
and small grain, besides esculents. 

Galiod, formerly La Bahia — situated on the southwest 
side of Rio San Antonio, in the extreme south central 
part of Bexar department, northwest corner of De Leon's 
colony, and northeast corner of Power's colony, eighty 
miles north by east of St. Patrick's, on the Nueces, in 
M'MuUen and M'Glone's colony. 

This town stands on the borders of a widely extended, 



TOWNS. 33 

level prairie plain; therefore it is second in health to no 
town of southern Texas, except Matagorda; as its water is 
pleasant, and though the soil around it is sandy, yet is as 
good as it is easy to cultivate. 

Gonzales, capital of De Witt's colony, department of 
Bexar — seventy-five miles west by south of Montezuma, 
on the Bexar road to San Felipe, and ninety miles north 
by west of Cox's Point, its principal port of entry, on the 
northwest head of Matagorda Bay. 

This town is situated on the southeast margin of the 
river Gaudalupe, between two large and luxuriant prairies, 
the one on its northwest side and the other on its south- 
east; which prairies have their northwest and southeast 
borders beautifully variegated with live-oak groves, post- 
oak and muskit knolls; over which knolls, lie scattered 
immense quantities of the finest building stones, and through 
which meander the sweetest of spring water rills. 

For beauty of prospect, salubrity of climate , and the 
goodness of its river water, it is surpassed by no other 
town or location in the province, with the exception of 
Bexar. Its site is surrounded by a soil which is a perfect 
specimen of the whole colony — a dark unctuous mellow 
mould — so agreeably mixed with-\vhite sand as to make it 
alike superior, for the productions of the garden, the or- 
chard, and the farm. 

Victoria, capital of De Leon's colony, in the department 
of Bexar, on the east side of the Rio Gaudalupe, in a good 
prairie soil, with mellow rich woodlands, both of hill and 
dale, in its vicinity. Its situation is comparatively healthy; 
and, being on the margin of the Guadalupe, its waters are 
nourishing, and agreeable to the taste. 

St. Patrick, capital of M'Mullen and M'Glone's colony 
— situated on the northeast side of the Rio de las Nueces, 
ten miles from its mouth. 

This town must be of considerable importance, as it is 
the thoroughfare between Matamoros, and the southern 
colonies of Texas. 

Matamoros, on the south side of the Rio Bravo, forty-five 
miles from its mouth, and twenty-five miles from the Bay 
of Braso Santiago, is a town of much mechanical business 



34 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and inland trade, wilh some fifteen thousand inhabitants — 
distant only one hundred and twenty miles from St. 
Patrick, southwestern department of Bexar. 

Refugio — capital of Powers' colony, department of 
Bexar. This town is placed in a pleasant and romantic 
situation, on the north side of the Aransaso river, five miles 
from the head of the northwest prong of the Aransaso Bay. 

San Anna, in Bexar department, at the junction of the 
Navedad and La Baca rivers. It is an important and 
interesting place, for the north and western parts of the 
province, as it is the main port of entry west, for goods 
from the sea-poils, for that part of the country ; as vessels 
which can ascend within six miles of the Colorado's 
mouth, can also ascend Matagorda west to Cox's Point, — 
twelve miles distant, by deep river water, from, this town 
of San Anna. 

There are but few other town sites, as yet located within 
the jurisdiction of Bexar, although nature has pointed out 
many a suitable place for them, which will be taken advan- 
tage of, by the increase of society. For instance, at Cox's 
Point in De Leon's colony, west head of Matagorda Bayj 
on the east side of the Guadalupe twenty-five miles above 
the town of Gonsales, where nature has formed one of the 
finest mill races in the province ; on the west of the Colorado 
in Woodbury and Co.'s colony, opposite the mouth of its 
northern branch, Pasigona; in Cameron's second colony; 
and in Woodbury and Co.'s, on the southwestern branches 
of the river Colorado: as also in Milam's new colony, 
near the silver mines of San Saba, and the northeast side 
of the Guadalupe, same colony : besides those which may 
be located south of Bexar, on the San Antonio river and 
its branches; and, in M' Mullen and M' Clone's colony, 
at the mouth of the Rio Frio, where it enters the Nueces. 

The reader will observe by what has been said, that the 
province of Texas comprises as yet no large towns within 
its limits ; yea, not even Bexar itself, which was constituted 
as one of the first military garrisons, placed by the viceroys 
of Old Spain, as a safe-guard to the inhabitants of the Rio 
Grande, against the predatory excursions of their restless 
neighbors the Comanche Indians. In vain also will he 



FACE OF THE COUNTRY. 35 

look to Nacogdoches, established upon the same principle, 
about the same period, in order to overawe the \vandering 
tribes of red men, between their borders and the colonists 
of Great Britain. Far less will he look to Refugio, one of 
the first Missionaiy stations founded through the laudable 
motives of the Spanish priesthood, for the conversion of the 
friendly Indians, scattered throughout the southern borders 
of their American possessions. 

And let us bear in mind, that the American settlers of 
the province had first to be of those who lived chiefly on 
the chase, and were more anxious to secure lands than 
anything else; the finding of which naturally scattered them 
over such an extent of country, as made it inimical to 
the growth of towns; so much so, that San Felipe, the first 
American settlement, of fourteen years standing in the 
province, is yet a small place, in comparison with some 
recent towns east of Red River. But it will soon be with 
the inhabitants of Texas, according to the western pioneer's 
proverb — 'Give me a rich country, and I will soon give 
you a large town!' 

It should likewise be kept in mind, that I have not been 
able to describe all the grants, given in land by the Mexican 
government, as they are but of recent date, and will be 
best known, by application on the desired spot, coveted in 
Texas, from out of the following superficies. 

FACE OF THE COUNTRY. 

In describing the surface of TexDS, v/e must take it in 
its threefold division, of plain, rolling, and mountainous — 
proceeding from the gulf of Mexico, to the interior. 

The plain country, which mjy be termed a dead level, 
with here and there a gentle slope, is thirty miles broad at 
the Sabine, gradually extending its Ire: dlh to one hundred 
miles on the Colorado, (which is the center of this level 
country,) afterwards as gradually narrowing it, to a point 
on the Nueces, south by west of Si n Antonio de Bexar. 

In passing from the east through this extent of country, 
we first find on the north and west of Lake Sabine, a low, 
woody, cane-brake country; and, on the southwest between 
Sabine Lake and Galveston Bay, sunken prairies, rather 



36 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

cheerless and sterile in their appearance, until we pass 
the northeast point of Galveston — where they assume a 
pleasant and attracting aspect. Crossing over the woody 
bottom of the Trinidad, we find a large extent of gentle 
sloping prairie lands, here and there enlivened by skirts 
of timber, except near Galveston, where the prairie be- 
comes naked and marshy. 

Leaving the lands of San Jacinto, and Buffalo Bayou, 
which are considerably interspersed wi*h fine undulations, 
(a thing not to be met with a second time in this region,) 
we find the whole country from Galveston Bay, to Brazos 
river, one extensive prairie; rather low and swampy on 
the Gulf coast, but in its interior plain, considerably relieved 
by creek timbers, and solitary groves. 

Moving onward, from the east side of the Brazos' broad 
timbered bottom, to the west side of Cane, we find but little 
prairie except on the north side of this level stietch, 
and down the west bank of the Brazos timbers, to a point 
at the town of Columbia; the balance being in general an 
extensive woody bottom, interspersed with immensely large 
cane-brakes, — which bottom, on the sea-board, becomes 
somewhat low, and miry in a wet season. 

On both sides of the river Colorado — with the excep- 
tion of its timbers, from Cane on the east, to Navedad on 
the west, we find it one solid prairie — apparently rich, 
and truly magnificent — being intersected, at various 
points and distances, with variegated clubs of timber, and 
continuous meandering skirts, v/hich point out the various 
branches and creeks of these three rivers. 

In continuing our route west of the Navedad, we still 
progress, more and more, into a light sandy soil prairie, 
to the north and west considerably sloping, but to the 
south and southeast perfectly flat; and on the shores of 
Matagorda, Aransaso, Espiritu, and Nueces Bays, not on- 
ly flat, but wet, and sterile in appearance, almost through- 
out every change of the season. However, the rivers 
Guadalupe, San Antonio, Aransaso, and Nueces, with their 
numerous branches, create a relief to the eye, and a con- 
fidence to the land hunter which will not be disappointed. 

The rolling, or undulated part of Texas, embraces by 



FACE OF THE COUNTRY. 37 

far the largest portion of that province ; lying in the form 
of a triangle, with the center of its base line on the Sa- 
bine, in latitude 32 degrees, and its vertical point resting 
on the Colorado, middle of Austin's second colony, longi- 
tude 20 deg. 30 min. 

In exploring the base of this extensive portion of the 
country, situated between the rivers Sabine and Trini- 
dad, we find it a wooded surface, having but few prairies 
and those smill, particularly on the river Naches and all 
its branches, as well as those of the Sabine, which mean- 
ders through an excessively broken country of timber 
land; and, below the junction of the Ayish Bayou with 
the Naches river, it is closely incumbered with scrubby 
undergrowths of every kind, with here and there a small 
cane-brake. 

But the country of this base, as we descend from Red 
Hiver, is more open, and the sides of its undulated swells 
not so abrupt, presenting at the same time numerous 
tracts of woods; which, as we approach the Trinidad, are 
more open and free from undergrowth. Upon a level sur- 
face, the distance at which objects can be seen, through 
these pleasant forest glades, is surprising; and open as 
they are to the influence of the sun, a thick carpet of grass 
is formed underneath, affording a plentiful and nutritious 
range. 

Now, reader, your relator is lost for words to describe 
the balance of this landscape triangle, after crossing the 
river Trinidid; as no language can convey to the mind 
any thing adequate to the emotions felt by the visiter, 
m ascending this vast irregularly regular slope of im- 
mense undulated plains, which expand before the eye 
in graceful rolls, affording from the summits of their gentle 
swells, a boundless prospect of verdure — blending in the 
distance, to the utmost extent of vision, with the blue of 
the horizon. Few spectacles surpass it in beauty and 
magnificence. The boundless expanse and profound re- 
pose of these immense plains, excite emotions of sublimity 
akin to those which arise from a contemplation of the 
ocean, in its display of undulatory movements. Yea, a 
more grand and stupendous .silence even broods over these 
D 



38 HISTORY OF TEXA«. 

regions, where often neither sound nor sight, foreign to the 
scene, disturbs the contemplation of the passing traveler. 

These rolling prairies are generally divided by a broad 
declivious vale, through which meanders in sweeping 
curves, one of those brooks, creeks, or branches, which 
enter the Trinidad, or Brazos, or Colorado; on which, as 
they approach these rivers, there is more or less of tim- 
ber, relieving the eye, in unison with these fine airy 
groves of every shape, with which the prairie mounds are 
studded — with spaces in them seemingly designed for 
buildings. Nature invites the cultures of art with the 
most alluring smiles. In many places these eminences, 
or inclined plains are regularly and beautifully decorated 
with timber, forming straight rows or colonnades ; then va- 
riegated into serpentine avenues, arches, or verdant 
alcoves, charming in their appearance and soothing in 
their effect. 

These rows of timber and picturesque groves are called 
islands, from the striking resemblance they present to 
small tracts of land surrounded by water. Nothing can 
be more natural than the comparison, as the prairies often 
assume the appearance of a lake both in surface and color; 
and in the remoter parts the hue melts into that of distant 
water. And it requires no very great effort of the ima- 
gination, especially in certain states of the weather, and 
changes of the light, to fancy that such is the reality of 
the scene. Yea, so much has nature contributed to the 
illusory appearance of these groves, that they often pre- 
sent all the beauty of art. For the trees are of nearly 
equal size, and grow near together, without underwood, 
and present outlines perfectly well defined, and often sur- 
prisingly regular; some appearing to form exact circles or 
ovals, while others are nearly square or oblong with 
scarcely a single tree projecting beyond; — so that it is 
found difficult to divest one's self of the impression that 
much of the land had been lately cleared, and these were 
the remains of the forest. 

Taking this interesting part of the province in all its 
bearings, I doubt whether another could be found like it on 
the continent — from its one mile encircled prairie, to 



FACE OF THE COUNTRY. 39 

those of twenty miles, without a solitary tree, shrub or 
bush. And although the music of brooks and water-falls 
is not heard to enliven nature — now leaping from rock 
to rock in frolic play, and again tossing over foaming cas- 
cades of mountain scenery — yet there are but few streams, 
which reveal not from their clear depths every little peb- 
ble and shining grain of sand; at one time expanding their 
swelling bosoms to the broad eye of day, reflecting back 
the sparkling sun-beams as from a thousand mirrors; now 
flowing smoothly over their beds of sand, then coyly re- 
treating beneath the shade of overhanging foliage and the 
more delicate net-work of the skirting wood. 

Elevations of land, from the round pigmy hills of a foot 
high, to the elongated- mountains of the fourth magnitude, 
are to be met with in this section of the country ; from 
whose summits there is always an enlivening, and often a 
magnificent prospect. Out of many which might be de- 
scribed, there is one which is well worth the fatigue of a 
hundred miles' journey to see — immediately on the road 
from Bexar to San Felipe, thirteen miles east from the 
Gaudalupc. On ascending from the Coloi-ado up this in- 
clined plain, for the first time, we are suddenly stopped on 
the west edge of a rather abrupt declivity, with astonish- 
ment and wonder. Well may it receive the appellation 
of mount Pisgah ; for, like Moses of old, we are made to 
exclaim — 'Behold the land of Canaan, and the best of it 
lies before you 1' For the whole undulated valley of the 
river Gaudalupe, with its branches, its prairies, its woods, 
its hills, and its vales, as far north, west, and south as 
vision can extend, lies under your enraptured gaze, in a 
full panoramic view. 

The mountain range of Texas commences from a spur 
of what is called the Cerra Madre, (mother mountain,) 
which it leaves near the junction of the Rio Puerco with 
the Rio Bravo, and passing in a north-easterly direction, 
enters Texas at the sources of the Nueces river. Thence 
continuing in the same direction to the head waters of 
the San Saba, crossing the Colorado some distance below 
the mouth of that river, it is finally lost in the undulating 
lands of the upper Brazos. 



40 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Spurs of this mountain range also extend southwardly 
down the rivers Madina and Gaudalupe, to the vicinity of 
Bexar. Spurs likewise extend down the rivers Llanos 
and Piedernales, and the smaller western tributaries of 
the Colorado. Similar spurs stretch up the Colorado, 
above San Saba, to a considerable distance, and round the 
head waters of the San Andres and Bosque, tributaries of 
the Brazos. These mountains are of third and fourth mag- 
nitude in point of elevation. Those of San Saba are much 
the highest. They are in many places thickly covered with 
forests, interspersed with a great variety of shrubbery. 

Extensive valleys of alluvial soil are found throughout 
this range, particularly upon the water courses. Most of 
these lands are irrigatable, from the numerous streams 
which flow down the mountains above them; and the sides 
of some of these mountains, with not a few of their sum- 
mits, are susceptible of cultivation. This range of country 
is peculiarly abundant in copious fountains of limpid water, 
which give rise to numberless rivulets that flow off with 
rapid current, and unite to form the large rivers of the 
central and western parts of the province. 

The scenery of this country is grand and beautiful : — 
here a romantic dell — there an enchanting alcove — and 
yonder a picturesque cascade, surrounded by the wood and 
the vine, in view of the rich glen and limpid brook which 
bends and curves from its vicinity; so that the traveler 
in passing from mountain to mountain, and from hill to 
hill, meets with the same repetition, except varied in all 
the multifariousness of nature's witcheries in her most 
frolicsome mood; sobering oflf to the eastward, until he 
meets her in the staid habits of hill and vale again — 
which she has smoothed down on the upper waters of the 
Gaudalupe, to the most graceful undulations, and rich 
sloping lands, covered with their rich robes of eternal 
verdure. 

Extent of arable lands. — East of the Trinidad river, 
there will be found one third of the whole fit for the plough. 
Between the Trinidad and the Colorado rivers, one half of 
the lands are tillable. West of the Colorado, one fourth 
of the surface can be labored. 



BOOK II 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 



VEGETABLE BEAUTY AND FERTILITY. 

The province of Texas in general, for native beauty, 
and the lower division in particular for exuberant fecundity, 
is excelled by no other country 1 have ever known; ex- 
cept perhaps in ihe first by Scotland, and it may be in the 
last by Demerara, South America. And although it is as 
yet but partially cultivated, still it yields its hundreds and 
its thousands, not only of those things needful for man and 
beast, but of those which may be termed the superfluities 
of their existence. 

Yea, its spontaneous productions meet the astonished 
traveler at every step, in such abundance, as can scarcely 
be believed by one who has not had an opportunity of 
seeing and judging for himself Were a man to explore 
these regions, particularly in the spring months, he would 
find such a variety of useful and ornamental plants, as 
would exercise all the powers which he might possess of 
delineation and description; as he would find the earth 
covered with their expanding blossoms ; the air perfumed 
with their aromatic fragrance ; both combined so as to en- 
chant the sensitive mind into elysian ideas — confirmed by 
the gratified eye, until every feeling becomes immersed 
into poetic inspirations; unfolding the curtain of conjecture, 
and laying open to the delighted view, in real life, those 
fabled dreams of the Elysian fields. 

Enthusiasm kindles around the pen, when it would at- 
tempt to describe such scenes as must forever beggar a mas- 
ter's pencil, and must be visited to be known; as no 
words can do justice to their peculiar appearance: here 
an alcove of enameled flowers — there an unmeasured 
d2 41 



42 HISTORY OF TEXAS. { 

field of herbs, flowers, and plants; yonder the clear sweep- 
ing greenwoods, with their outlines as if guided by the 
band of art; along whose edge tastefully stands the thickset 
sumac hedge, and whose trunks are fancifully dressed with 
the vine and the honey-suckle; rendering it difficult, when 
approaching one of these delightful places, not to surren- 
der yourself to the pleasing illusion, that you are sur- 
veying the park and lawn of some elegant mansion embo- 
somed among the swelling hills or beautiful groves which 
surround you. 

Here then a botanist would meet, on these prairies of 
perpetual verdure, such a variety of flowers, plants, and 
roots, of kinds so various, and without doubt if their vir- 
tues were known, of such intrinsic worth, as fully to com- 
pensate for every trouble taken in their investigation. 

NATIVE PLANTS. 

No common traveler will find it possible to follow up 
the flowery profusion through all the gradations which he 
must meet with at every fresh turn, from the largest flow- 
er to be found on the continent, to the most delicate, and 
to the most gaudy; while he is too often without a guide to 
their designation or class; recognising only those speci- 
mens of kinds, generally to be found in our gardens of the 
United States: such as the red and white roses, the May- 
flower, the wild-pinks, the red and yellow lilies, the jessa- 
mine, the cowslips, the golden-rod, the heart's-ease, the 
wild-hollyhock, and the pond-lilies, &c. 

Then there are the herb varieties, as I may say, of ev- 
ery clime; from those of the most northern mountain tops, 
to the extreme southern vale; a convincing proof of the 
various soil and diverse climate which give them birth. 
Out of which I can give but few examples, such as the 
balm of Giiead, the cinque-foil, the eye-bright, the noble- 
liverwort, the wild-liverwort, the maiden-hair, the blood- 
wort, the plantain, the rattle-snake plantain, the toad plan- 
tain, the nettles, the ground-ivy, the water-cresses, and 
the yarrow-root, &c. 

O! what a field for a doctor of the Thompsonian princi- 
ple to practise on, in this country, which I have seen some 



NATIVE PLANTS. 43 

of them do, with such success from the root and herb med- 
icines thereof, as would but subject the relator to ridicule, 
in too many parts of these United States. However, let 
that pass with the herbs above, and let us look at some 
,- of the roots and plants below, such as the spinkenard (or 
petty-morrel,) the elecampane, the angelica, the sarsapa- 
rilla, the ginseng, the licorice, the mandrake, the wild-po- 
tato, the ground-nut, the snake-root, the gold-thread, the 
devil's-bit, the blood-root, the wild-parsnip, the onion, the 
garlic, the hellebore white and black, and Solomon's-seal, 
with, as before, many an et-cetera! 

Of the tea plants there are many kinds made use of by 
the citizens of Texas, the leaves of which would not dis- 
grace the richest China urn, and the flavor of which is 
equal to the best hyson, and it has been taken as such by 
the most epicurean connoisseur. A head-ache flies at its 
approach , and a decoction of it taken in bed never fails to 
counteract the severest cold. 

The indigo grows here in luxurious profusion, and its 
plants are rich and juicy, requiring only the aid of the 
careful and industrious house-wife to produce a dye, if 
not superior, yet equal to the far famed Prussian blue. 

The nopal, or prickly-pear, deserves a passing notice, 
as it is the vegetable which is fed on by the insect that 
yields the cochineal dye; which I have never seen in the 
Northern States grow over six or eight inches in height, 
while in Texas there are impenetrable thickets of it, higher 
than a man on horseback. This plant produces an im- 
mense quantity of fruit, which, together with the young 
leaves, furnishes food for vast herds of cattle and wild 
horses. Of the fruit of the nopal, there are two kinds; 
one is scarlet, about the size of a common pear, with much 
of its shape; the other is much longer, and when ripe, of a 
yellowish white color. The latter is much esteemed, and 
is gathered by the Mexicans to be sold as a choice fruit. 

During the revolution, the army of Patriots commanded 
by General Toledo, who was defeated by the Royahsts 
on the southwestern plains of Bexar in '13, was at one 
time preserved from famine by the fruit of the nopal: 
which circumstance, in connexion with its never-failing 



44 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

abundance, its closely compact form, its prickly aspect, its 
great value for feeding cattle, and for nourishing the 
cochineal insect, suggested the idea of adopting it as a 
part of the Mexican Arms. 

MINERALS. 

In traveling through this country of fruits, roots, and 
minerals, it will be better for every inexperienced and 
uninstructed man to leave his curiosity ungratified, than 
to taste; as many have suffered and some have died, 
through the effects of their own temerity; as every mem 
ber of the exploring company, with which I was connected 
in the summer of 1830, can by their own experience 
testify, particularly by their making too free with the 
water-rills oozing from mineral beds: which leads me to 
suppose that the mineralogist, in search of fossils, would 
be amply remunerated by the search. Although in that 
department of science I confess my ignorance, yet by the 
glimpses, now and then, that I was able to take of the sur- 
face of mineral depositories, so plentifully scattered 
throughout the whole country — more particularly the 
mountainous parts — I am led to believe that in some 
future period, not far distant, the enterprising miner will 
be one of the most wealthy and independent men of the 
state ; as the variety arises in gradation from the iron-ore, 
to that of the silver; and in all probability, we might ex- 
tend our views even to that of gold! 

Having found the iron, the lead, and the mineral coal, 
I shall leave the gold for future inspection; as well as that 
large mass of metal which is known to exist near the 
head waters of the Brazos, said to be several tons in weight, 
malleable and bright, having little oxide or rust upon its 
surface. A large piece of this metal was taken to New 
York many years since, by way of Natchitoches, under a 
belief that it was platina ; upon which the chemists of that 
city made experiments, and it is said, proved it to be pure 
iron in a malleable state. The existence of such a mass 
of metal is as remarkable, as the fact- is unquestionable; 
but whether it be iron, is perhaps not so well attested. 

It is well known, however, that there are mines on the 



ARTICLES OF CULTIVATION. 45 

branches of the Colorado, (to say nothing of the Brazos,) 
that in former times produced a considerable revenue to 
the Spanish crown; particularly San Saba, which still 
stands upon record in the archives of Mexico, as of the 
third quality ever wrought within the boundaries of New 
Spain. But ever since they have fallen into the hands of 
the revolutionists, they have through necessity been 
neglected, as the republicans have had enough of them in 
the interior to employ all their spare hands; at least I 
may say their spare soldiers ; as the savage foe, ever since 
they cut off the San Saba workmen, have been in no little 
degree, masters of their northeastern frontiers; taking ad- 
vantage of the Mexican troubles, to become uncommonly 
noisome and refractory. 

Leaving these things and pursuits, to be followed as 
they may, we shall take a closer observation and a more 
minute inspection of those things and pursuits, which are 
of a much more consequential nature to the mass of the 
people; because they can exist without silver or gold, but 
not without food and raiment. 

ARTICLES OF CULTIVATION. 

I shall ask then — Is it not a well known fact, that in 
New Orleans, the merchant gives as much, if not from one 
to three cents more for the Texas cotton than for that of 
Louisiana? And cannot the Texian farmer of the Gulf 
coast, raise as much if not some hundred pounds more of 
it to the acre, than the planters can in any part of the 
United States? 

Let us examine and judge by what we have seen; re- 
membering always that three pounds and one quarter of 
seed cotton in that country, yields one pound of clean, and 
that they are not so subject to the heavy rains, which 
often occur during crop time in Louisiana. Is it a wonder 
then, that the farmers of the rich, black sandy alluvial 
bottoms, should boast of their four thousand pounds per 
acre, one year with another; while those who cultivate 
the stiff, black lime soil, and those who occupy that of a 
reddish complexion, can vaunt of their three tlaousand five 
hundred pounds per acre, in all ordinary seasons? And, 



46 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

wherever the black uplands have been improved, they have 
commonly brought their three thousand pounds per acre. 
Who, then, would not emphatically exclaim, this is a cot- 
ton growing country? for of a surety its advantages for 
raising this article are superior to those of any part of the 
United States. 

The next article of profit to the hands of the cultivator, 
on the Bay shores, would be that of the sugar cane. The 
species called the violet, would have the advantage of the 
riband cane, by coming to maturity earlier in case of frost; 
a thing which is long in coming, and has but little effect 
when it does come, on these level plains within the vicinity 
of the sea-board, especially where they are protected on 
the north and east, by river bottom timber, or post-oak 
ridges. 

In consideration of all these advantages, those who shall 
see meet to turn their exertions to the making of sugar 
and rum, will find their recompense, by an unlimited 
quantity, as it were, of returns to the capital and soil em- 
ployed ; and that too, both as to flavor and quality, if not 
euperior, yet equal to the West Indian productions of the 
same kind and name. 

When at the same time the lower section of the country 
and its equally level valleys would be thus occupied, its 
mid-lands would produce wheat in such quantities, as 
could not fail to realize a considerable profit to the grower, 
as where it has been attempted, it has produced from 
thirty to forty bushels to the acre. And were there grist 
mills erected, and distilleries raised, there would then, be- 
sides wheat, be enough of barley produced, from the light 
mellow soil of the sloping prairies, and post-oak lands, not 
only to supply the country's consumption, but to export, 
in a raw or manufactured state, to a considerable amount. 

Of course there could be oats in sufficiency, from the 
mountainous districts, to supply the people of the whole 
province with feed for their stable horses, and rye in 
abundance, if a market could be found in a country, where 
so little necessity exists for hoarding up stable provender 
of any kind. As for corn, that useful production, which 
can be reared, almost, on any spot of our continent, and 



ARTICLES OF CULTIVATION. 47 

which is of such an attractive virtue, as to bring every 
thing else, like substantiality and comfort, around the 
cabin of the pioneer, (for without it his homestead looks 
barren, and his house stock looks wretched, even in 
Texas !) need any family in the province be without this 
staff of life, so necessary for their well-being, and by them 
so easily attained, as has already been amply demonstra- 
ted, — by its yielding from thirty to forty bushels per 
acre, when only planted by new comers m an open woody 
bottom with a marlin-spike, and never dressed afterwards, 
nor otherwise tended, except to keep as much as possible 
the vermin from devouring its ears, until they could be 
gathered into the crib. What then will be the result, 
when the country is covered with industrious inhabitants, 
the ground properly prepared, and the plants respectively 
attended to, as in the states of the North ? Why, it will 
(although some visitors have thought not, but I have seen 
it raised too often not to know better,) be, calculating upon 
every drawback, from forty to eighty bushels per acre, ac- 
cording to the place and season. 

But in what season, or to what place in Texas, shall 
we go wrong in looking for sweet potatoes? and that too, 
of the largest kind to be met with in any country ; so 
much so, that I fear there are not many out of the pro- 
vince who will believe me when I have said, that I saw — 
and not only have seen, but often have assisted in eating, 
of these potatoes which have weighed upwards of eight 
pounds each, while at the same time, they were both dry 
and mellow. From prairie lands or dry soils, the farmers 
generally have such potatoes produced, at the rate of five 
hundred bushels per acre, without feeling in the least that 
there has been any thing uncommon done. Potatoes 
(Irish) grow equally well here, and are equally good; but 
strange to tell, if they are planted always from the same 
jeed, they will degenerate into sweet potatoes in every 
respect; which by some is not much regretted. 

Where shall a farmer in this country locate, so that he 
could entertain the remotest fear of his land's future pov- 
erty ? I venture to say, nowhere, that a plough can be 
made to go. It could not be on the highest prairie, for the 



48 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

higher he could go, the more proportioned would he find, 
its deep black mould mixed with sand — diminishing not its 
richness to him, but his labor. Nor could it be on its 
timbered swells, for the mildness of the climate forbids it, 
while he holds in his hand the power of rotary cropping, 
with the luxuriant vines of the pea, the bean, and the 
pumpkin, with many others so congenial to the climate 
and the soil; in addition to the heavy, swarthy layers of 
the brank and the vetch, in co-operation with the pasture 
and the fallow. 

Nay farther, tobacco itself shall never be able to beggar 
the alluvial soil of the province, with all its searching 
qualities, for it must ever continue to be a superior pro- 
duction of that country, creating both profit and reputation, 
(whenever it shall become an article of commerce,) infe- 
rior to none east of the Sabine. 

STOCK RAISING. 

The salable part of a farmer's crop, might, if he were 
so disposed, be brought to market in better order, and to 
greater perfection, than any which I know of in North 
America; because, if Industry proves itself to be For- 
tune's right hand to a farmer of the United States, who 
has to provide so many articles of unprofitable consump- 
tion, how much more so in a country where the farmers are 
not now — nor ever wi'l be — under much necessity for 
an over-anxious carefulness in respect to animal proven- 
der: having no occasion to collect and preserve it for the 
use of their live stock; as the pasture for cattle both 
summer and winter is unlimited, and the mast for hogs 
will in all ordinary seasons continue plentiful. 

So much is it thus the case, that there is not a sober 
well-thinking man in the province, who will not aver, 
(when on his veracity,) that he can do as well as ever he 
did in a more northern sphere, upon one half of his time 
employed in manual labor. Yea, I have heard many say, 
and assert it boldly, too — whom I had no reason to disbe- 
lieve, by what I had seen myself! — 'That they could do 
as well on one third!!' And why nx)t? The earth brings 
forth by handfuls, (as I said before,) with comparatively 



STOCK RAISING. 49 

little or no trouble; while their live stock increases around 
them with astonishing rapidity, producing their young at 
an earlier period of life, and having them afterwards more 
frequently, than those which live in a colder climate; 
doubling their numbers, independent of all common casu- 
alties, every two years, by only looking after them, instead 
of laboring during the extremity of the summer's heat, in 
order to collect that sustenance which is absolutely neces- 
sary to preserve them in existence during the rigors of a 
northern winter. 

In confirmation of these things — Have not I seen hogs, 
taken from the timber bottoms, only two years old, and 
fed on mast alone! weigh when slaughtered, upwards ot 
three hundred and fifty pounds each? 

And did not I see a calf only eight months old! taken 
from the prairie lands — and butchered before the citizens 
of Gonzales — which weighed three hundred and ten 
pounds ? I can also say, that I never saw a beef killed, 
but it outweighed common calculation; while I assure my 
reader by experience that the flesh is in general fatter, 
juicier, and tenderer, than any I ever tasted in any other 
country. The universal complaint about beeves in the fall, 
and hogs in the spring season, is of their unctuosity! — 
Fat, too fat ! ! Can it be wondered at, when the whole 
face of the country — bottom-lands, wood-lands, and prairie 
uplands — is verdant with grass, which suffers but little 
diminution in the winter, on these extended bottom-lands, 
broad cane-brakes, and large muskit grass glens, in the 
vicinity of which salt-licks are so common, as to seal the 
authenticity of that saying, which is not without reason, 
* that it will cost more to raise a brood of chickens in Tex- 
as, than an equal number of cattle :' as the one is feeble 
and dependent, and confined to the precincts of the house, 
where its natural means of subsistence are soon exhausted, 
and it must be fed and protected; the others range abroad; 
are nourished and defended by their respective dams, and, 
feeding on the unfilled and ungarnished harvests of nature, 
are very soon competent to support and protect themselves. 
O! what a country to raise horses and mules in, when- 
ever the number of its citizens shall bid defiance to the 

E 



50 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

incursions of the Indian ; making it as safe, and as profita- 
ble a business to embark in, as that of the cattle and hogs 
at the present day. 

Good jacks can be purchased in the neighborhood of the 
Rio Grande, for about thirty dollars per head ; and good 
unbroken mares, which are equally as valuable as broken 
ones, can be had at five dollars apiece, and driven into 
Texas at an expense, including all risks, estimated at about 
twenty-five per cent, on the first cost. Therefore, let a 
small capital be once obtained, the subsequent expenses 
are trifling — the increase sure and valuable. 

Mustangs, or wild horses, are often caught in droves by 
the Mexicans, who drive them into pens constructed for 
that purpose; after which, they make such selection as 
will best suit the market; turning the rest out again to 
their native wilds. If those retained are under four years 
of age, they are easily subdued and domesticated, espe- 
cially the mares, which are, many of them, animals 
of fine figure. Although they are generally inferior in 
size to the blood horses of the United States, yet they are 
bold, hardy, and active, better adapted to the saddle than 
to the harness; and their offspring, from the American 
horse, is often of a superior kind indeed. Mingled with 
the herds of mustangs, are often seen jacks, jennies, and 
mules; but one must be west of the Nueces, or north of the 
mountains, to see such a beautiful and interesting spec 
tacle as a large drove of wild horses ; for within the set 
tlements of Texas, they are not numerous, and are fast 
diminishing, through the exertions of the inhabitants to 
enslave them for their benefit, or shoot them down for the 
hair of their mane and tail; pleading in excuse for the 
wantonness of their conduct, the safety of their tame 
horses, which are too apt to be led astray by the gambols 
of the mustang. 

With the wild horses are also disappearing the buffalo 
and the bear ; and deer are getting scarcer and scarcer 
every day, although a good marksman is sure yet, (if he 
goes on purpose,) never to return honje without one, — 
or at least, in lieu thereof, a turky, out of the many droves 
to be still seen hovering around the skirts of the prairies. 



MANUFACTURING ADVANTAGES. 51 

These turkies grow to an enormous size, especially the 
males, one of which — I once saw, weigh after it was 
dressed, twenty-eight pounds ! 

MANUFACTURING ADVANTAGES. 

Now, when we take a retrospective view of our western 
countries, we shall see at once, that Texas outstrips the 
most rapid of them, in her march of improvement, since 
the Americans sat down on it as hunters and graziers; 
now as graziers, farmers and small planters; leaning fast 
forward to that state which may be termed planters, farm- 
ers and graziers; and finally, if circumstances shall continue 
to answer expectations, that of planters, farmers and manu- 
facturers, bringing in their train the enterprising merchant 
and artist. All of whom, in competition, never fail to 
produce luxury and refinement. 

What an extensive field lies open for the moneyed capi- 
talist and the scientific mechanic! where they could exercise 
their respective funds, in the commencing and carrying on 
of cotton and woollen factories. And would it be too much 
to say, that of flax also? No! For I have no hesitation 
in pronouncing it as much a flax country, as it is of any 
thing else ; being convinced in my traveling through it, by 
coming upon a small field of it, iii a cleared cane bottom, 
growing as beautiful as any I had ever seen in Europe ; — 
it was its equal for length, evenness, and strength of stalk ; 
so complete in its appearance, that an Irish gentleman in 
company declared — 'Upon his honor, it was as good as 
any his mother (who was a proficient in that respect,) ever 
raised in sweet Ireland!' 

But it is, like every thing else, which might be pro- 
duced in the country — not yet fully entered into, and 
is only waiting for a proper stimulant to be universally 
adopted. 

Well then, these factories could be established at the 
falls of San Antonio, — at those of Guadalupe, — and at 
those of Colorado and Brazos ; those falls appearing to be 
formed by the plastic hand of nature, for that very purpose, 
and that too within the distance of from two hundred and 
ffty to three hundred and ffty miles of the Rio Grande, 



52 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

where wool can be had to any amount, at the low price of 
from three to four cents per pound; and which would not — 
as it is a dry, easy and direct route — cost more than from 
six to eight cents per pound, when brought to its place of 
destination. However, such an importation would soon be 
superseded, by the farmers of the province turning their 
attention to the growing of wool, whenever such a profita- 
ble market should thus be brought to their very doors. 

For never was there a country better calculated for 
shpep than that of Texas, whether they are of the long or 
short wool breed; as its pasture lands are in general 
rolling, and on that account both dry, airy, and open; it 
being a standing maxim with the shepherds of every 
country, — 'That a high, open, airy, dry range, is the 
only one adapted to the nature of that valuable animal.' 

And as the post-oak, live-oak, pecan and walnut groves, 
are plentifully scattered throughout the prairies, shadowy 
retreats from the rays of the scorching sun, during the 
noon-day, would be in continual preparation for them; 
would they not thrive then to a certainty, particularly in 
the upper parts of the colonies, so as to be a profitable 
pursuit; provided they were attended to by a shepherd, 
and his dogs, who would carefully pen them in a secure 
fold every night, to preserve them in his absence from the 
panther, the ounce, and the wolf, &c., until such wild and 
voracious animals are destroyed; as they (especially the 
last) are at this time, and will for a long time to come, be 
very numerous and audacious. 

COMMERCIAL FACILITIES. 

Now supposing all these considerations were in full 
operation, and providing water conveyance was insufficient 
in its natural channels to answer quickly and profitably 
the demands made upon it — what then? Why, canals 
and railroads! — which with the increase of wealth and 
trade must be constructed; as surely the surface of no 
portion of the western continent, is better calculated for 
such improvements than that of Texas, in whose eastern 
and south-central department so much timber abounds, in 
conjunction with the iron, if you please, of its northwestern 



RESOURCES AND PROSPECTS. 53 

mountains, as to make the enterprise both easy and com- 
binable, from one side of the country to the other, and from 
its mountains to its bays in every direction. 

Which bays with their inlets, are well known to be none 
of the best, nor ever can be, for two reasons out of several 
which might be produced : First, on account of the immense 
quantities of friable clay and sandy particles, carried down 
from the hills and rolling prairies, every year, by the 
freshets to the flat coast of the gulf vicinity. Secondly, 
on account of the Mexican Gulf's tide waters, too often 
assisted by the south winds, to cope with the surface level 
of the bay shores — check the river waters — refusing to 
receive them as it were, until they have added a little more, 
to the alluvial part of the country from whence they came. 

Nevertheless, those small vessels that are all-sufficient 
for the coasting trade, can by good care and correct man- 
agement, enter those bays with facility; and if large ves- 
sels should ever be employed, they can, by remaining in 
the roadsteads, have their loads conveyed to and from them 
by lighters. So that upon the whole, we may with pro- 
priety compare this coast with that of South Carolina; 
which is known to answer, by a little more expense, every 
end required. 

However, when the commerce of the country shall re- 
quire the largest merchant ships, Galveston Bay will be 
the focus of trade, by having such a large scope of country, 
whose rivers can be made tributary to it; which, together 
v/ith rail-roads, will insure to this point two-thirds of the 
imports and exports of Texas. 

And It cannot be long, before the foundations of a town 
will be laid, either upon Galveston island, or the main land 
below Red-Fish bar, fifteen miles south of the bay head. 
My impression is, that Bolivar point offers the most fitting 
location for such a town, which must, at no distant period, 
take its place among the respectable commercial cities 
upon the Atlantic coast. 

RESOURCES AND PROSPECTS. 

In a few words, it is a country abounding with resources, 
which have, in spite of every obstacle, stimulated the re- 
e2 



54 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

fleeting mind, to venture upon future calculations of profit 
and independence, at the expense of present happiness 
and ease ; so much so, that the country is moving onward 

— although but slowly — more by reason of imaginary, 
than real causes j still it is with a steady a-nd silent pace, 
towards that state of society, wherein one will not only 
meet with all the pleasures of polished life, but with every 
other concomitant inherent therein. 

However, when that period shall arrive, is as yet a se- 
cret hid in the womb of futurity. But one thing we know : 
if the present political struggle between its inhabitants 
and the Mexican authorities — shall end well; even so, as 
to be a recognized State of itself — governed by its own 
local laws, in conformity with the laws of the Mexican 
Confederation: — or if the citizens thereof shall continue 
to consult their true interest — acting accordingly — it 
must eventually grow, and that too with rapidity, not only 
in moral, but in physical strength and consequence; not- 
withstanding the six Cardinal faults it labors under — not 
only in the opinion of many visitors, — but at present in 
that of some settlers also, — v/ho have gone to see or set- 
tle in' it, with their minds possessed by very erroneous 
ideas, concerning its present prosperous and improved 
condition. 

« Those persons who give vent to their morbid feelings, 
by detraction and slanderous misrepresentations of the 
country, would do well to ask themselves, — in what part 
of the world, they can get land for little or nothing? 

— where obtain so many enjoyments with so little labor? 
and, what region combines every good?' 

Now these six particular stumbling-blocks (or objections 
to Water, Timber, Climate, Savages, Mexicans, and Peo- 
ple of Texas) shall by us be sifted and analyzed, each in 
its own book; until we have thoroughly examined the 
grounds whereon they stand, and pointed out spme of the 
means whereby these real or seeming difficulties, growing 
out of those supposed deficiencies, have been already in 
part — and may in whole be so amended, as to be consider- 
ed successfully met, and completely surmounted. 




BOOK ifl-^^^^ 



WATER OF TEXAS. 



WATER COURSES. 
Texas can boast of having as many water courses with- 
in its boundaries, as any other given portion of the same 
extent in America j but in the aggregate they are of less 
consequence to the people, and of less utility to the coun- 
try, in a commercial point of view than the rivers of any 
other district of the same proportion on the continent. A 
map of Texas, displaying as it does, so many rivers and 
their branches, would lead one to infer that the country en- 
joyed extraordinary facilities for inland navigation; which 
is not the fact. The rivers when once entered, though 
deep, are narrow, and change their courses abruptly, which 
counter-balances the advantages derived from their depth, 
and the pretty ample distribution of their waters. There is 
no water course in the country, to be compared with Red 
River in Louisiana : as there are- but few, very few indeed, 
navigable in low water! While during the freshets, they 
are obstructed by rafts of floating timber, which on ac- 
count of the level and alluvial nature of the soil through 
which their greatest body flows, deposit themselves in 
such numbers and quantity as to bid complete defiance to 
a free and easy navigation. There is a complete stop 
put to navigation in many places, particularly in the Col- 
orado, which has a raft ten miies from its mouth, of very 
considerable magnitude ; and there it must continue, like 
those inferior ones in the other rivers, until the inhabitants 
become enabled by their numbers and wealth to overcome 
such paltry obstructions. . 

FOUNTAINS. 

Although the deficiency of river navigation, or river 
water, (putting obstructions aside,) is so apparent, as to be 

55 



56 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

undisputable, yet it by no means proves a want of water 
for the necessary supplies of animal life. There is one 
thing certain, that no settler in the province could, if he 
should try, find a spot destitute of fountains, at a distance 
of five miles from one of those numerous spring creeks, or 
river branches, which traverse the territory from side to side, 
and from river to river ; more especially in the mountainous 
district northwest of the Guadalupe, and the rolling wood- 
lands east of the Trinidad. Purer water, or more fre- 
quently to be met with, is seldom to be seen in any coun- 
try,* barring those noxious fiitrations proceeding from the 
mineral beds of iron, lead, copper, &c. 

A man must in some situations sink a well for the con- 
venience of his family; but he seldom would have to dig- 
deep, before he would find cool and good tasted water; su- 
perior in one respect to the water of the cistern, which 
must so often be had recourse to, on the bottom lands of 
Red River, to the eternal production of that teasing and 
annoying insect the musketo. When a family is thus in 
possession of a well, their live stock can without going too 
far find a plentiful supply. 

Still there is one thing not to be denied, that there are 
but few creeks, which continue running throughout the 
whole year; and as the visitors of the province generally 
examine it in the dry season, they are in respect to wa- 
ter most commonly disappointed. This is partly owing 
to the roads running through the highest and of course the 
dryest situations of the country, and partly to the porous 
nature of the earth, over which the waters of these creeks 
have to pass ; or to the scorching beams of the meridian sun, 
which dry up the water beds, during the length of a mid- 
summer's day; or to the elevation of the land, which drains 
the rain waters, easily and rapidly from off* its surface. 

SINKING OF STREAMS. 

The water sinks by day, and rises by night, in these 
sand-bed branches that are supplied by small springs; so 
that a stranger is often surprised in the morning, to find a 
running stream, where he only found in the evening a dry 
branch, containing at his encampment (if he was so fortu- 



OVERFLOWS. 57 

nate as to have a guide, or so judicious as to find) one of 
these never failing broad-leafed ponds ; which he is bound 
upon conscience to pronounce 'As the sweetest and 
purest water he ever tasted :' perhaps owing a little of its 
refinement to the filtrating process it had undergone in 
rising and sinking through its local bed; and perhaps 
partly owing to the thirst he had endured throughout the 
previous dayj which was heightened by disappointed ex- 
pectations, in looking for water to be in every hollow, 
which he had, by keeping the highway, to pass over, in 
proceeding from one prairie to another; but which he 
found to hold none, except during the wet season, or dur- 
ing the period of a thunder gust. 

OVERFLOWS. 

How often is a visiter, on his coming to the margin of 
one of these water courses, (whose general appearance is 
that of a sandy or friable clay,) astonished in feeling it ne- 
cessary to dismount from his horse, in order to save his 
own neck and also to allow the animal to ascend the op- 
posite bank. Upon which bank he either finds a level 
prairie, or a skirt of timber: if timber — by his looking up 
the trees he sees the marks of an overflow, it may be at 
such a distance from the ground as to excite his unqualified 
surprise. Ho then surveys the length of the course, and 
finds it upon common principles impossible for the water 
to fill its bed — besides spreading to such an immense ex- 
tent on every side, as it must do, before it arises thus 
high. 

But owing to two causes the thing is obvious. In the 
first place, the land above the champaign country, is bro- 
ken into rolling prairies and woody knolls, undulated like 
the waves of the ocean; rising into loftiness according to 
their distance from a large water course, and receding into 
the most beautiful and enchanting valleys, along each side 
of a river : no matter how narrow, or broad that river may 
be, (although few deserve the last appellation,) its banks will 
be steep and in general its waters rather shallow. So that 
the surface of the adjacent ground soon throws off the rain 
which falls upon it, and that too in a very short time, after 



58 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

having added to the friableness and prolificacy of the plain, 
by the moistening sediment which it brings along with it 
when rising, and overwhelming the low lands, with a 
sluggish, and consequently undetrimental current ; but up- 
on an equal ratio deepening the centre of every course, 
especially on the high lands, until they are in appearance 
the beds of large rivers indeed! 

In the second place, on account of the vicinity of the 
mountains, which by their metallic composition, arrest the 
southern clouds as they roll in their course, until they 
thicken up and appear as one terrific mass of threatening 
destruction ; awfully sublime j when the thunders roar, and 
the lightnings glare ! Then does the north, instead of the 
south wind, blow; and the rain, which I believe is no where 
more violent while it lasts than in the open high lands of 
Texas, fall in such a rapid and apparently universal sheet, 
as to give one at the time an idea (not an imperfect one 
neither,) of a second deluge. This appearance is after- 
wards the more perfect by reason of the little difference 
there is between the surface of the Gulf stream and that 
of the adjacent country; which retards the motion of the 
water until it rises to a height, beyond the credibility of 
the uninitiated spectator. 

But let it be remembered, that these swells are but of 
short continnance, and are far less destructive to the peo- 
ple's property in general, than a stranger is apt to imagine, 
as they proceed altogether from a not very frequent, and 
transitory cause. The cause ceasing, so must the effect; 
until one searches in vain for water upon the general face 
of the same ground that was thus overflowed, unless in- 
deed he looks (contrary to the common custom in the 
north) up the creek, instead of down. In that case he 
will be apt to find a small native spring, as it were hid 
under the brow of a bank, or by the side of the first rolling 
prairie from whence the hollow run takes its rise. 

The springs of the country are not so numerous as yet — 
I say as yet, because the settlers are finding out new ones 
every day ; neither is the water which issues from them 
as plentiful as could be expected and desired; from the 
coolness and boldness of some of them, at their issuing 



LAKES, 59 

point; owing to the extreme dryness of the soil in gen- 
eral, over which the waters pour; too frequently, espe- 
cially in the upper parts of the province, swallowing up 
their contents, to the severe disappointment of both man 
and beast, during the dry season. 

THE DRY SEASON. 

This season in general, sets in about the last of April, 
and continues to about the first of September. When this 
is the case, its severity is often mollified, by refreshing 
showers, which have frequently a singularity attached to 
them, that I have never observed in any other country, 
during what is called a drouthy spell ; and for which there 
is only one way of accounting. I allude to the attractive 
power of the water courses and their accompanying woods, 
in drawing down those clouds, which are brought by the 
south winds from the Gulf, to the prejudice of the prairie 
lands. During this time of partial refreshings, a man may 
travel for months, through the whole country of open prai- 
rie — see the rains falling, shower after shower around him 
— and yet by carefulness in timing his movements, never 
get wet. But let him beware of the other two thirds of the 
year, especially if he would pass t4irough the lower section 
of the state; for he will not only find it wet, but miry to a 
fault, particularly in the early spring; when through ex- 
cessive rains, the agriculturist is often retarded in his 
early preparations for a crop, as well as a partial stop be- 
ing put to that safe and expeditious communication which 
is so desirable and necessary in a community. 

LAKES, &c. 

In addition to the water courses already mentioned, there 
are in Texas several fresh water lakes, some swamps and 
many ponds. The fresh water swamps are to be found in 
the greatest profusion, east of Galveston ; the ponds be- 
tween the Trinidad and the Brazos ; and the lakes west of 
the Brazos. The principal lake is east of the Cane, in the 
midst of a prairie, almost ten miles long, and from one to 
three miles wide — nearly destitute of timber, presenting 
to full view, a beautiful sheet of water, abounding with 



60 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the finest fish and fowls ; and is frequently resorted to by 
the inhabitants for many miles around. 

FISH, &c. 

From the smallest pure lime-stone pond, in the moun- 
tainous parts of Texas, down to its largest mud swamp, are 
fish in abundance, almost of every variety to be found in 
North America; a few kinds of which I have particularly 
observed, such as the Perch, the Trout, the Pike, the 
Cat-iish, the Carp, the Chub, the Pout, and the Buffalo j 
besides those to be found in its salt waters, such as the Cat, 
the Sturgeon, the Mullet, the Sheepshead, and a species of 
Trout, with the E,ed-fish, which are so numerous in Gal- 
veston Bay as to give name to its northern bar. These 
fish are excellent in quality, and quite large, some of them 
weighing from ten to fifty pounds. 

In addition to all these, there are Shrimps, Crabs, 
Turtles hard and soft shell, and Oysters. Of the last, 
those of Matagorda Bay, for quantity, goodness and flavor, 
are excelled by none to be found in the Mexican Gulf: 
such beds too, as line both sides of the peninsula, which 
stretches from the main land, between the northwest head 
of the Bay, and the mouth of Canebrake river, thirty miles 
in length, and from half a mile to five miles in breadth, are 
not often to be met with on the coast of America! 

It may well be supposed, that where such a variety of 
fish abounds, there also will their enemies by land and 
water be gathered together. The most formidable of such 
are the Alligators, which are unfortunately numerous in 
the Bays and their neighboring streams, and are to be 
found sometimes enormously large. Then there is the 
Alligator Gar, a singular animal, in form half fish, and 
half alligator. It is a worthless fish, with a snout of im- 
mense length, and is sometimes caught in the rivers and 
ponds — but seldom eaten. Then there is the Water 
Moccason, a disgusting animal of the snake species, of 
more dangerous qualities than the rattlesnake ; as the one 
in the bush, is a generous, although a poisonous enemy; 
and the other in the fen, is equally poisonous, without one 
spark of generosity in his composition. 



WATER FOWL. 



61 



WATER FOWL. 

Of the fowls which make fish their prey, and the water 
their haunts, there are immense flocks, especially in the 
winter; and more particularly in and around Galveston 
Bay, which is kept literally alive with their noise and 
motion; and the eggs of such fowls are found in great 
quantities upon the shores of the islands, bays, and harbors, 
us well as upon the margin of swamps, marshes and lakes. 
To designate those fowls by kind or name, which the 
mildness of the weather and the quantity of marine food 
bring together in Texas, would be rather a difficult task. 
I shall content myself with a few of the most prominent; 
such as, the Pelican, the Crane, the Goose, the Brandt, 
the Duck, the Curlew, the Swan, the Loon, the Teal, the 
Cormorant, the Stork, the Snipe, the King-fisher, the 
Water-hen, the Fish-hawk, and the Eagle. The Pelicans 
resort in such numbers to an island in Galveston, as to 
give it their name ; and the cranes cover the marshes ; 
their young are wholly white, of spotless brightness, and 
when in a sitting posture, are extremely graceful. 

CONCLUSION. 

We may with safety say — that there is as much water 
ascends from the bowels of the earth, and descends from 
the clouds of heaven, in the province of Texas, throughout 
the year (though it may be, not with the same regularity, 
and to the same beneficial efiect,) as generally does in any 
other country, of a more northern latitude. 

As we move on southwardly to the equator, the tendency 
to the regular division of wet and dry seasons increases, 

I until there is no other distinction made, except that the 

I dry is the longest. 




BOOK IV 



TIMBER LANDS. 

PRAIRIE. 

Theke is not that quantity of wood to the extent ot 
country, which is generally to be found in the northern 
United States; but is one tenth of the timber, which is 
cut down by the farmers of the North, made use of for 
useful purposes? And, if ihey had their choice of as good 
land, without the trouble of clearing it, would they not 
prefer it, providing they had a sufhciency of wood for their 
domestic consumption? Which is the case in Texas as a 
whole, in nine selecti( ns, made as yet, out of ten! as 
there are but few land holders who have not more or less 
of what are called timbered bottoms, and what are com- 
monly termed post-oak ridges in their selections ; although 
these selections have been particularly made with an eye 
to the value of their prairies, which are but seldom infe- 
rior to the timbered alluvions, for all the purposes of plant- 
ing and farming: So far from it, that many persons who 
cultivate this kinu of land, prefer it in the long run to the 
alluvial bottoms; maintaining that the sandy, deep black 
mould prairie, when properly cultivated and sufficiently 
mellowed, will yield crops nearly equal to the best allu- 
vions; and that the labor, expense, and time required, to 
clear twenty acres of timbered bottom lands, and prepare 
it for cultivation, would be sufficient to prepare sixty acres 
of prairie; and that, supposing both kinds to be equally 
prepared, a hand can cultivate two-thirds more of the lat- 
ter, than of the former. Su that, taking all things into 
account, the cultivation of the prairie land requires less 
capita! in the outset, and is more profitable in the end, 
than the cultivation of the bottoms. 

63 



64 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

WOOD LANDS. 

Nature has distributed her favors, as regards wood and 
land to the Texasians, in a peculiar manner; giving them 
wood in abundance, east of the river Trinidad, where they 
have so much poor land, and no little wet prairie. Between 
tlie Trinidad and the Brazos, the scales are nearly equal^ 
as to the value of their prairie lands, their woods, and 
their wood lands. The southern division of that which 
lies between the Brazos and the Colorado, where it is 
overstocked with timber, is of a stiff clay lime soil, rather 
disagreeable to work; but its northern division, if it has 
an over proportion of prairie lands, is equally rich, and 
more agreeable to the hands of the cultivator. While that 
which lies between the Colorado and the Gaudalupe, may 
be equally divided into pasture lands, and arable prairie 
with rich timbered bottoms. West of the Gaudalupe, if 
they are somewhat deficient in wood, they have no scar- 
city of good arable land; with a superabundance of the 
finest pasture lands in the world. 

Now the stock raisers and the prairie cultivators, can 
at all times be supplied, as they have heretofore been, 
with building materials from the steam saw mills of San 
Jacinto, Chocolate, and Buffalo Bayous, &c. &c. ; besides 
from those hydraulic mills which are, and still could be 
placed on those rivers, in whose vicinity so much valuable 
timber of every kind, from the finest of cedar to the 
coarsest of pine, abounds. 

There are but few trees to be found on the continent ot 
America, which are not to be met with in the province of 
Texas, from the scrubby Jack-oak of the mountains, to the 
venerable and majestic Live-oak of the plain, which is often 
to be seen in the bottom prairies, of an enormous size; one 
of which I saw near Bolivar, sixteen feet in circumference, 
keeping this size more than thirty feet from the ground, 
before it spreads out its enormous branches. Larger trees 
than this, however, are not uncommon; some of them meas- 
uring even twenty-one feet in circumference. What would 
such trees be worth in the dock-yards of the United States^ 
to say nothing of England? 



wool) LANDS. 65 

The trees of larger growth are sometimes covered with 
Spanish moss, as on the shores of the Mississippi; bat 
these bearded nondescripts are not so frequent as to give 
that sensation of gloomy sickness to the country, which is 
so often to be felt on viewing the bearded cypress of the 
Louisiana bottoms. No, another kind of feeling will take 
possession of the stranger's bosom, who stands on an open 
level prairie in a misty morning, viewing at a distance, 
what appears to him then as a mass of vegetation, the 
greater part of which appears dead, and dry, and pendant 
in streamers from numerous points, ready to be waved by 
the wind whenever it should blow; the form ill defined, 
but the solid parts by which this loose drapery must be 
supported concealed, though here and there large and 
gnarled branches and tufts of deep verdure are percepti- 
ble, through an almost unbroken veil of white and matted 
moss. After admiring for some time this singular phe- 
nomenon, let him approach a little nearer, and he will 
perceive that this singular appearance is caused, by a full 
grown tree of considerable age, with trunk and boughs 
which seem as firm as iron, and laden with luxuriant foli- 
age of a peculiar depth and darkness ; overspread with 
lichens, hanging in bunches from the extremity of every 
branch and twig, and concealing almost entirely the form, 
frame-work, and dark verdure beneath. When the light 
falls upon it strongly, the whiteness of the moss, contrast- 
ed with the dark hue of the leaves, makes it seem almost 
as pure as a hill of snow — and offers a striking resem- 
blance to the hoary head of a venerable old patriarch. 
How much more gratified will he feel, when he is informed 
that this noble tree is a live-oak, and that this product of 
the forest, and in Texas of the prairie also, is proverbial 
for the strength and durability of its timber, and for its 
usefulness in the construction of ships; generally distin- 
guishable from a distance by being more fully arrayed 
than any other trees in this singular drapery; and whose 
trunks and branches are in general well shaped for strength 
and durability, wherever they have been found to grow in 
the province. 

f2 



66 HISTORY OF TEXAS, 

TREES AND SHRUBS. 

In some places, especially in the north-central part of 
Texas, there is a peculiarity which I have never observed 
elsewhere; that of the most valuable and particular kinds 
of wood growing as it were in beds, or lines, almost dis- 
tinctly apart from one another: so that one man's lands 
may have a very different species of timber on it, from 
that of another. Of course the respective proprietors may 
obviate any inconveniences resulting from this singular 
distribution, by mutual exchanges, without incurring any 
other expense than that of transportation. 

No man need go as yet beyond the bounds of Texas^ 
for any kind of timber which he may see meet to use in 
it, for purposes of utility; as there are, in addition to those 
four kinds already spoken of, the White-Oak, the Red-Oak, 
the Hickory, the Walnut, the Ash, the Elm, the Cypress, 
the Linden, the Hemlock, the Yellow Pine, the Spruce 
Pine, the Locust, the Muskit, the Cotton-wocd, the Wild 
Cherry, the Pecan, the Sycamore, the Hackberry, the 
Mulberry, and the Button wood ; besides many other kinds 
which might be mentioned in this work, by one who has 
seen and proved the matter in all its bearings; taking not 
only the names of the trees as he found them, but of the 
shrubs, whenever he saw any which he could designate; 
as the Laurel, the Sumac, the Juniper, the Sassafras, the 
Willow, the Large Elder, the Dwarf Elder, the Poisonous 
Elder, the Shrub Oak, the Winter-green, the Witch Hazel, 
the Myrtle Wax-tree, the Wild Plum, the Prickly Ash, the 
Shin-wood, the Spoon-wood, the Moose-wood, the Fever- 
bush, the Sweet Fern, the Raspberry, the Whortleberry, 
the Blackberry, the Cranberry, and the Choakberry. 

The undergi'owth of the best lands in Texas, is Cane, 
to be met with in abundance on the west bank of the Sa- 
bine, although the reeds are small, and the land on which 
they gi*ow is apt to overflow. On every river more or 
less, in the country, this species of cane is apt to grow, 
sometimes covering a great extent of river bottom; which, 
in conjunction with the river bottom Rye, creates a never 
Sailing winter pasture. But the main cane-brakes of tlier 



TREES AND SHRUBS. 67 1 

province are between the Brazos and the Colorado, on i 
what is termed Cany creek, or Bayou — which never over- 
flows, and where the cane-brakes are from four to twelve i 
miles in breadth, with but few trees to be seen among | 
them through the whole length of this creek — seventy 
miles. These canes, or reeds, are known in the Nor- 
thern States as fishing rods, where they often sell at a j 
high price. 

To pass through one of these cane-brakes, or properly 
speaking Angle-rod Brakes, by one of those narrow paths \ 
commenced while they were young, and which is kept 
open through the year, by the frequent passing and re- 
passing of men and horses, is a novelty seldom to be met j 
with in any country, but that of the lower Texas. Con- ' 
sider yourself entering one of these singular avenues, i 
arched overhead, and with the view of the sky shut out, I 
for the space of a mile or so, with an impenetrable wall i 
of reeds on each side of you, to the height of twenty feet i 
or more; and these reeds so slender, that, having no j 
support directly over the path, they must droop a little 
inward, and so meet and intermingle their tops as to form 
a complete evergreen bower. The sight of a large tract, , 
covered with so rank a growth, of an annual plant, which 
rises to such a height, decays and is renewed every twelve- 
month, affords a striking impression of the fertility of the 
soil. j 

The next best undergrowth, indicative of good land, is i 
the Laurel — to be found in almost every river bottom, 
but particularly on the Brazos, where it would not be too 
much to say, that thirty miles on the coast, by sixty in- | 
land, was covered with this production; the leaves of which 
taste like the kernel of the peach stone, containing an ex- \ 
traordinary quantity of prussic acid. The leaves resemble : 
those of the peach tree ; hence it is called by the colonists, j 
'wild peach.' This tree is an evergreen, and grows to I 
the height of twenty or thirty feet — though its usual height \ 
does not exceed ten feet. 

If the cane and the peach are a true signal, to the ^ 
planters of the Cotton and the Sugar cane — so sure is tho i 
sign of the Muskit tree, to the herdsman and the shepherd. 



68 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

This tree is to be found throughout the whole of the gentle 
sloping prairies of the province, but in greatest abundance 
west of Guadalupe, where there are but fev/ kinds of trees 
to be met with. It is a species of locust — its size about 
that of a peach tree, which, when viewed at a distance, it 
very much resembles in appearance. The leaves are simi- 
lar to those of the honey locust, but much smaller. It 
bears a pod about the size and shape of the common snap- 
bean, quite sweet to the taste, and when dry, is used 
by the Indians, in time of scarcity, for food. It is also 
highly valued by the Mexicans, who maintain, ^that for 
purposes of fattening cattle and hogs, it is equal to maize.' 
This tree is good, on account of its hardness and durability, 
for several kinds of husbandry articles, as well as for 
making the best rail posts in the country — continuing un- 
der ground an ordinary life time, free from rot. 

The pasture grass, wherever this tree grows, is con- 
fessed to be superior to any other in the province; espe- 
cially in the winter season, as it is always green — bearing 
a strong resemblance to the blue grass, so common in the 
United States — and furnishes the most nutritious pastu- 
rage, retaining its nutritive qualities even after it hag 
become dry and apparently dead. The Muskit tree (pro 
nounced Muskeet) gives name to this kind of grass. 

Where the land is but of recent formation, the growth 
is of willow and cotton wood, with occasional young syca- 
mores; but this is not very frequently to be found, as 
there are not many cut-offs made by the rivers of this 
country, and the flat lands of the salt water shores, are 
too brinish for their nutriment. The red cedar is found 
in many places, although in small bodies, or groves, par- 
ticularly on the uplands between rivers, where it is of 
superior value for the purposes of the farmer. As house 
logs or rails, it is considered sujfficiently durable, through- 
out all weathers, for the space of thirty years ! 

The post-oak and jack-oak are considered in Texas as 
every man's property, except in a very few cases indeed, 
as the lands whereon they generally are to be found, are 
of a high, dry, and light sandy nature — v/hich, when per- 
fectly saturated in a rainy season, are dangerous to be 



TREES AND SHRUBS. 69 

crossed by either horse or wagon. This land, being most 
commonly found on those intermediate spaces which sepa- 
rate rivers or their branches, is therefore but seldom in- 
cluded in the surveys of the citizens' selections; and never 
will be, except where it is of a superior nature, or well 
watered with springs. This kind of oak is seldom to be 
found of a large growth; however, the farmers often get 
it measuring two rail cuts in length, the only use to which 
they have put it to as yet, although it is a wood the most 
durable of any in the country — susceptible of being form- 
ed into many useful articles : but it is destined by its situ- 
ation and quantity, to be the only firewood of the Tex- 
asians, for many — many years to come. 

The fir tree and the pine, next to the scrub-oaks of the 
province, may also by the citizens be considered one of 
their inexhaustible treasures. This wood for size, tall- 
ness, and straightness of stem, is a striking contrast to the 
oaks of the same soil, which divide the elevated prairies of 
the upper country, and which cover the abrupt sides and 
extreme tops of its mountainous district; nowhere to be 
imitated in Texas, except in the rolling parts of the coun- 
try east of the Trinidad, and on the gradual swells of 
moderate elevation around Harrisburg', where it is to be 
found in such profusion as to supply all Texas with lum- 
ber for ages to come. Some of these pine trees measure 
three feet in circumference fifty feet from the butt. If 
the people of the southeast are so conveniently supplied 
with soft porous plank, those of the northwest are equally 
so with the hard, close-grained boards of the black-walnut 
— produced more abundantly on the upper waters of the 
Gaudalupe, than any other kind of wood to be found in the 
river bottoms: many of these trees of such a size too, as 
to contend strongly with the live-oak, for the ascendency. 
I once saw one of these walnut trees brought to the water- 
power saw and grist mill, of the Mill settlement above 
Gonzales, out of which they had three square cuts, of fif- 
teen feet each in length, and whose breadth ranged from 
four feet in the first cut, to three feet in the last. Let the 
exchange or barter of timber be the order of the day> and 
no citizen of Texas need complain of his country's nudity. 



70 HISTORif OF TEXAS. 



BUILDING MATERIALS. 



Providing timber should ever become scarce for the 
purposes of building — can not and will not the house- 
holders, as soon as abilities will allow, erect brick houses, 
as they have already in many places commenced doing; 
and instead of covering them with shingles, provide them 
with tile roofs? which buildings, on account of their supe- 
rior advantages, must supersede the frames — as certainly 
as the frame houses are now in many places succeeding 
the log cabins. 

In addition to that resource, freestone, granite, quartz, 
limestone, and other rocks, are common in all the upper 
sections of the country, so that wherever the brick soil, 
and lumber should fail, there would be no deficiency in 
building materials, not only for houses, but fences of every 
description; and more too, than could be made use of 
within the distance they could be conveyed — counting at 
the same ratio of expense, by even calculating on their 
durability above that of brick, as a hundred to one; and 
to that of wood seven hundred fold ! 

Nay farther, when steam machineries shall be set up, 
even where there is no wood, bituminous coal of the finest 
quality, can be had in such quantities, as may be consider- 
ed inexhaustible; not only on the high banks of the Colo- 
rado, which may be looked upon as the center of the 
province, but in many other places. 

Moreover, why should there be any lack of timber, 
when by planting it as they do in Europe, and preserving 
itafterwards from the annual prairie fires (which have here 
tofore been the principal cause of that deficiency which 
we now lament,) it v/ould grow with such rapidity, as would, 
in a shorter space of time than is generally imagined, be 
sufficient to answer every useful demand. 

Besides, there are some peculiar kinds of trees, indigen- 
ous to the soil and climate — such as for instance the 
wild China, to say nothing of the Peach already described 
— that have been tried, and will be found very beneficial 
as hedges, particularly in the level overflowing lands, 
where they will be in the course of time generally adopted. 



FRUITS. 71 

They may be planted in single rows, with a proper 
space between them, so as to admit slab rails, which can 
be inserted into the body of the tree, as soon as it is from 
eighteen to twenty inches in circumference; and that 
size it will most commonly be, at the end of the third year, 
even from the seed. 

What is much more saving of timber still, place your 
plants only two feet or so apart, within the protection of 
a rail fence, or any other; and top them occasionally, after 
they are three years of age. It v/ill be found in three 
years more by so doing, that they are superior to any 
thing of the fence kind, ever made use of in any other 
country ; as they are of such a plastic nature, as will in 
this case unite and join with one another in such a close 
embrace, as to bid equal defiance, (without any protecting 
support whatsoever,) to the strength of the furious bull — 
and to the insinuation of the suckling pig! 

Which way these improvements will take place, or when 
the period will arrive wherein they will become generally 
needed, by being absolutely necessary, is uncertain: one 
thing we know, that there are but few landholders as yet, 
comparatively speaking, who will be under the necessity 
of having recourse to them soon. 

FRUITS, &c. 

It has been frequently tried, therefore sufficiently 
proved, that the climate is as congenial for the planting 
and rearing of one kind of trees as another; and every 
SOI t of fruit seeds adapted to the temperate zone, have 
been found to want only that persevering industry, and 
particular attention, which is necessary to be given in all 
countries — to grow and bear, perhaps as well as those of 
the same kind in any part of the southern United States, 
the Floridas not excepted! And v/hy not? When such 
wild and unnurtured trees as the following bring their 
fruits to such perfection, as is seldom to be found in any 
country of the same latitude. There is the Vine, but 
more of that hereafter — the Mulberry, the Crab Apple, 
the Plum, the Cherry, the Sweet Gum, the Peach, the 
Butter-nut, the Walnut, the Hazel-nut, the Beech-nut, the 



72 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Pecan-nut, the Chesnut and the Hickory-nut; besides the 
figs of the Fig-tree in perfection, with many others so con- 
genial to the chmate. And by that desire so ardently 
manifested by the inhabitants of the province for orchards, 
they will be enabled to enjoy at least in full perfection 
that delicious production the Peach, so highly prized by the 
American farmer. At the same time the produce of the 
kitchen garden, will come more generally into request, as 
the people become more established in their possessions. 
And one thing may be depended upon, if there is hut half 
a chance for rain, during the summer solstice; every kind 
of vegetable will come to perfection, equal to any produc* 
tion of the same nature, ordinarily produced in the state of 
Louisiana — musk and water-melons, which really deserve 
in Texas to be noticed especially, not excepted. 

Furthermore, all the countries I have ever seen for pro- 
ducing the grape-vine, Texas excels. The variety of 
kinds, and the quality of these kinds, are by far the most 
numerous, and best I have ever tasted. These native 
grapes are found growing luxuriantly in all quarters, while 
those of Aikansas and Louisiana, owing to the greater 
humidity of the atmosphere in those regions, are compar- 
atively acrid, and liable to untimely blights. What then 
will these grapes of exquisite flavor in the province be, 
when cultivated by the hands of man? as surely no coun- 
try is better adapted for the culture of the vine than this, 
where the poorest description of its lands is so admirably 
suited for vineyards ! 

There cannot be the least doubt, that the day is not far 
distant, when there will be vineyards in the province of 
Texas, equal to any in Switzerland, France or Italy, for 
the superior quality of their wines and fruits; producing 
thousands of gallons of that most charming beverage, made 
with so little trouble as to be a profitable concern to the 
raiser, even by disposing of it on the most moderate terms. 

Indeed it will be as easily attainable by the inhabitants, 
and almost as cheap as the article of honey — which is at 
present, and will continue to be collected by the busy bee, 
from myriads of flowers, and by them deposited in the bo- 
som of every hollow tree ; so that cutting down, (for there 



FRUITS. Y3 

is very little searching required,) is all that is wanting, in 
order to procure that delicate and luscious repast! The 
wax thus obtained, is not only valuable to the farmer, by 
hardening his beeve tallow candles — but as an article of 
commerce it commands a high price. It often happens, 
therefore, that the bee hunters, at a distance from habita- 
tions, will throw away the honey and save only the wax. 

In addition to all these rewards of industry, through 
the instrumentality of v/ood, there is another which has 
of late years drawn the attention of not a few of our 
American agriculturists; to wit: the culture of the Mul- 
berry, a tree to be found very plentiful in Texas. But as 
of late publications have been numerously circulated, on 
the methods to be pursued in the rearing of the silk-worm, 
I shall forbear saying anything on the subject; except 
that such a pursuit rightly entered into, would be worth 
the attention of a Texasian, perhaps as much as any other 
branch of business he could turn his family's industry to. 

Pecan gathering, is and will continue, as long as peo- 
ple continue to live in sea-coast cities, a source of no or- 
dinary emolument to th^ Texas farmer-— if not every 
year, at least every second year, as they fall then from the 
trees by handfuls, and are in general of a very superior 
quality indeed. These command a constant market, not 
only in sea-ports of the eastern and western coasts, but 
in those of Europe also; producing at an average to the 
first collector, from one to two dollars per bushel. So nu- 
merous are the native Pecan-trees, in the upper parts of 
the country, that it requires nothing but their preservation 
to insure a continual emolument; independent of th^se 
the farmers plant around their dwellings, as one of the 
few ornaments which they could adopt, combining both 
pleasure and profit. It requires no uncommon exertion, 
for a family consisting of half a dozen children, say from 
the age of six years and upwards, to provide themselves 
during the space of six weeks in the fall, with a hundred 
and fifty bushels of that pleasantand valuable fruit; to say 
nothing of the walnuts, and the other marketable nuts of 
every kind, already spoken of. 

Upon a review of the whole matter, we have found an 
G 



74 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

abundance of useful timber — no little of the profitable, 
and much of the ornamental. 

And what still adds to the variety of a Texian land- 
scape, and to the beauty of its scenery — there stands a 
Chinque-pin tree with its load — here a Persimmon tree 
with its branches covered — and yonder is a Haw-thorn 
tree, with its cargo of golden fruit. But why should ] 
enlarge by enumeration? To preserve, plant, and enjoy 
not only the trees of the forest, but the glade, can be at- 
easily, profitably, and profusely done in Texas, as in any 
other country north of the Cancerian tropic 1 

WILD ANIMALS, 
It will be v/ell also, for the emigrant to remember, that 
the animals once so numerous throughout the woods and 
prairies of Texas, are either pretty much destroyed, or 
retreating to the upper region of the country, from whence 
they are fast taking their final leave. The bufialo is but 
seldom seen below the mountain. The mustang, or wild 
horse, has almost deserted the lower prairies. The deer, 
though still common, are vanishing under the rifle of the 
white man and the red; and when we take into consider- 
ation, the number of enemies this timid, and, when young, 
helpless animal has to contend with, we are only astonish- 
ed to see so many remaining. A few wild, or Mexican 
hogs, may yet occasionally be seen among the mountains : 
they are an animal of little value. Bears are frequently 
met with,.at a distance from settlements. Wolves and 
foxes also are troublesome in many places; the former 
devour pigs as well as sheep, and by their numbers are 
still very annoying to the inhabitants. Wild cats are also 
numerous — and the tiger or Mexican cougar, will some- 
times be found in the mountainous districts, although but 
seldom to be caught napping; but the panther a species 
of the tiger, and the spotted leopard, are not so very shy; 
particularly the panther, who will often take up his abode 
in. some den or thicket, a,djacent to the pig-sty of the far- 
mer, until he is found out and destroyed. The rabbits 
and squirrels seem to have found, besides their enemies 
on land, a mortal enemy in the myriads of hawks, which 



WILD ANIMALS. 75 

they have to encounter with in this country. The opos- 
sum and the raccoon, are still somewhat troublesome to 
the good wife of the house, who prides herself in the good- 
ly number of her geese, turkies, and chickens. The infe- 
rior animals of the country, are neither very numerous nor 
troublesome, although occasionally one may stumble on a 
mole or a dormouse, or perhaps at times see a skunk, a 
weasel, or a mink. As for rats, bats, and mice, they are 
common annoyances, not worth mentioning in any country, 
far less in this, which has been so recently inhabited. 

The reader will observe by what has been said, that 
hawks are plentiful in the country; so are buzzards and 
owls. The hawks are forked or swallow tailed, unlike those 
of the North. The raven, and that cosmopolite — the crov/, 
have found their way to Texas; so have the red-bird, tho 
black-bird, and different species of the jay and wood- 
pecker; also a few flocks of the green paroquet, whose 
scream is any thing but pleasant. The king-bird is the 
same valorous little fellow here, as in the North; the martin 
is as social, talkative, and noisy; and the swallow cleaves 
the air as gracefully here as there. Among the birds fit 
for food, are the wild _ turky, (commonly found in itie 
woods, and near the edges of the prairies) the turtle-dove, 
the prairie-hen, the partridge arid the quail; the two last 
are however thinned off by the enemy of the poor squirrel. 
Among the songsters are the thrush, the mocking-bird, the 
whippoorwill, and the nightingale. The notes of the last 
appear not to be so melodious, nor his strain so fall as the 
same bird's at the north. The cultivated field, and not the 
forest, is the haunt for singing birds, which, in time no 
doubt, will follow other emigrants to the country. Here 
also may be seen the confiding robin, the tidy wren, and 
the delicate humming bird, gracefully extracting his nour- 
ishment from the juicy flower — transporting instantly the 
beholder's thoughts, from nature's beautiful works, to na- 
ture's God ! 

In passing from that which adorns the landscape, and 
enlivens the forest, we are bound in good faith to notice 
also, their pest and their bane, which things shall be in- 
quired into more particularly, in our treatise on the 



•76 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Climate — sufficing ourselves in the mean time with a 
reference to the most prominent. Such is the rattle-snake, 
fortunately not often to be met with in Texas; but the 
deficiency is amply supplied, by the long black snake and 
the striped or garter snake, which are the never failing 
pests of the barn-yard and the chicken roost; and the wall 
or house adder is eternally to be found wherever a log 
building stands. Occasionally, but not so frequently as in 
the fields and woods of the North, one will meet with a 
hissing snake, or a green-snake — a speckled snake, or a 
thorntailed snake; and at times, with that beautiful, small, 
harmless creature, the ring-snake. 



BOOK V. 



CLIMATE. 



CAUSES OF DISEASE. 



Adventtjrees ill search of a second paradise have been 
disappointed in Texas! True it is, this fancied El Dorado 
of theirs claims no exemption from the prejudicial operation 
of causes which must in some degree be found in every 
new country, on its first settling with civilized inhabitants ; 
such as umbrageous woods and rotting timber, supported 
in autumn by deca.ying vegetable substances, creating 
effluvia, deleterious to the human system; too often assisted 
in the province of Texas, by the sudden overflows, particu- 
larly those which take place in the spring months, leaving 
a sediment (in lieu of the undrainpd fresh-water marshes 
and stagnated ponds of other countries,) which if acted 
upon by a warm sun and a dry atmosphere, seldom fails 
to assist the above mentioned causes, in their disagreeable 
operations. Which causes, when combined with that 
change the corporeal frame has to undergo, immediately 
after the removal from one country to another, more es- 
pecially if it should be from a northern 'to a southern 
latitude, must often prove fatal! We therefore need not 
be surprised that those colonies, particularly the low 
grounds adjacent to the gulf coast, should be felt as unheal- 
thy by the first settlers, and consequently reported as such 
by the transient visiter. 

But I venture to predict, that facts shall prove other- 
' wise, in a shorter period of time than is commonly ima- 
gined, let but that spirit of improvement which now pre- 
dominates, be backed with the means of carrying it on, 
and society be organized into moral habits of industry, 
cleanliness, temperance, and order : the contrary of which 
G 2 



78 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

has been in time past, and still is cutting doAvn and car- 
rying off its hundreds and its thousands of those, who in 
order to exculpate themselves, have laid the whole blame 
upon the climate; whereas, it only seconded their own 
blind and infatuated conduct. 

I say, let the contrary of such be the case, then see 
whether there will be any more occasion for complaints in 
tiiese colonies, than there is now in many parts of the 
northern United States, which were once considered as 
inimical to animal life, as they are now proved to be 
healthy and exhilarating. Can any climate, however 
g')od it may be, wholly counteract laziness, disorganiza- 
tion, and intemperance? No! Neither can the inhabitants 
in general (I say in general, because there are many ex- 
ceptions, and some of them leading characters too,) have 
iheir due influence on society, although that society is as 
yet in no little degree infected by those evils. And why 
jt is so, I think I can make obvious to every inquiring mind. 

mDOLENCE. 

The people en masse can have a living, and that plen- 
tifiiily too, of animal food, both of beef and pork, of venison 
and bear meat, besides a variety of fish and fowl, upon 
easier terms at present, especially the wild game, than 
any other people, in any other district of North America; 
which must continue to be the case, for one of the best 
reasons in the world — at least in Texas; as the wild ani- 
mals decrease, the domesticated ones will increase! 

And, as they have not commenced, except in a few cases 
(comparatively speaking) upon the border lands of the 
Gulf, to export corn, they have by just dropping the seed 
and afterwards stowing away the increase, more bread 
stuff than they well know sometimes what to do with, it 
being out of the question to feed their hogs on it, except 
they were to raise them on such food altogether, which 
would be a pity, while they have so much mast in the 
woods, and so many roots in the prairies. 

And, as their milch cattle increase in numbers, and 
that very frequently too faster than they can attend to 
their milking, fhey have more, as to family use, much 



INDOLENCE. 79 

more milk, than they know how to dispose of, except they 
are well stocked with farrow sows, or have around them 
pet mustang colts. 

With these three main stays of a farmer's life, come, by 
very little more exertion than just the picking and gather- 
ing in, those condiments and relishes, which not only gar- 
nish the table, but replenish the appetite, from a source of 
such plentiful variegation, as the gardens and the fields, 
the woods and the waters, of a Texas country 1 

Is it a wonder then, that the men (for no woman can, 
if she would, be lazy in a new country,) are indolent, v\dio 
can provide life's necessaries for their families so handily ? 
especially those who live on those districts of the country 
which are aback of the older settled ones, not only as to 
place and convenience, but as a natural consequence, to 
enterprising men of capital. 'Show me a lazy man — 
and I will show you a dirty one,' is an old adage ! And is 
it an improper one? No indeed! For filthiness ranks 
among the malignants. 'I am well enough,' says one, 
'for my neighbor is no better; and, what does it signify 
in this new country how I dress? a leather hunting shirt, 
and a pair of buckskin breeches, are' good enough for the 
mud and briers: besides, I believe I'll just go and hiuit a 
little to-day, v/hich will make me dirty enough before I 
return, I warrant you.' Now, if the wife of such a man 
does not contrive once a week, or so, to make an excuse 
about the linens — alias cottons, alias dressed skins, being 
too hard to wash when they are soiled so long; alarming 
the man's fears by adding, 'that she will absolutely have 
to beetle them to pieces, before they can be made fit to go 
on again ;' he would scarcely shift himself from one Vv eek's 
end to another; as they have no church meetings as yet 
to go to, (which I hope will not long be the case,) where 
the two sexes can display their taste and finery, as they 
can who live in an old settled country; and where (Alas! 
it is too often the main object of bringing them out,) the 
wives are very fond of shov/ing to others how tidy they 
keep their husbands, and the husbands to prove how libe- 
rally they supply their wives ; and both together to com- 
pare their pretty children, with those of their neighbors^ 



80 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

However, there is a little more neatness shown by the 
young, whose thoughts are occupied upon matrimony; yea 
even by the bachelors, (commonly the most careless of 
any,) providing they have their minds still turned to that 
"paragon of eal-thly felicity, although experience too often 
teaches the contrary; and that it requires as much care in 
a married couple, especially on the woman's side of the 
question, to preserve one another's love after marriage, 
as it did for them to gain it at first. 

INTEMPERANCE. 

Again, it is a theological maxim, that ^ The person who 
is not engaged in doing good, must,'' as the immortal mind 
can never rest, 'be doing evil!' A maxim verified to the 
fullest extent in every country, whea*e the people can pro- 
cure the necessary means of life upon easy terms. And, 
as there can be no country north of the equator superior 
in that respect to Texas, and as their rational enjoyments 
are but few, and these few very limited, of course they are 
unavoidably subjected to a continual sameness, alike (for 
want of established mails,) destitute of literary amuse- 
ments and religious excitement. They cannot therefore 
wile away the time more pleasantly, as they very erro- 
neously imagine, than in meeting their fellow citizens in 
some one of those petty stores, which should rather, if 
they had their right cognomen, be termed grog shops! 
which shops are sure to be found in every new country; 
and which have been, and still are too much so, the very 
center of attraction, for both young and old of the Texa- 
sians; as every thing like public business, except in their 
courts of justice, must begin and end there!! 

Now it is, unfortunately for mankind, a fact, sometimes 
awfully established, that although one at first has deter- 
mined within himself, not to be contaminated, yet it is as 
impossible for him to go there and be otherwise, as it is 
for him to avoid seeing and hearing when his eyes and 

ears are open. For 'd me!' cries one, (observe, a 

horrid draught, to be palatable, must have a corresponding 
expression,) 'if you do not drink with me, I shall be mad!' 
'Taste with me,' vociferates another, 'or by G — you are 



SALUBRITY. 81 

no friend of mine!!' So to keep them in as good humor 
as possible, seeing they would as soon abuse their best 
friend as not, (as reason at this time in them, so to speak, 
is unreasonable,) he tastes a little for friendship now; and 
a little then for sociality; by and by, a little more through 
exhilarated feelings; which feelings expand his self-ag- 
grandizing ideas, untie the strings of his then imagined 
heavy purse, so that he becomes one of the greatest of the 
falsely great; and ends by returning treat for treat, with 
his too jolly neighbors. From such beginnings^the once 
sober man learns by degrees to love that liquid which he 
formerly so utterly abhdrred and despised; and according 
as his vitiated love grows, so it leads him gradually along, 
from one folly to a greater, from vice to crim.e, and from 
crime to ruin ! ! ! 

While the Snake of the Still is thus charming his devoted 
victims, ^ O ! what a wretched country !' exclaims such an 
inhabitant; <I never have had a well day in it.' And, «0! 
what a sickly climate V cries the casual visiter ; « look, how 
pale the people are.' And O! O!! say I, the faces of the 
men are made pale by the dying struggles, of liquid fire ; 
the women's faces are made pale by sorrow and hard labor ; 
and the children are pale through improper indulgence 
and careless keeping. 

Nevertheless, as I said before, there are other causes 
for sickness in the province of Texas ; but all these causes 
when combined, are not half so deadly and destructive in 
their effects, as those causes which are created by the 
people themselves. Therefore rest satisfied, ye men of 
steady habits, that the climate will at all times bear a com- 
pai-ison, with a considerable balance in its favor, against 
that of Louisiana or Mississippi ! 

SALUBRITY. 

In Texas, from river to river, we have an open ascend- 
ing country, wherein a swamp or putrid pond is not to be 
found ; with clear sea breezes, as invigorating to the frame, 
as they are refreshing to the spirits. In Louisiana and 
Mississippi, from river to river, we have compact woods 
and a level country, wherein are to be found many a large 



82 xiitf TORY OF TEXAS. 

swamp and stagnant pool, creating a miasmatic matter, 
not only disagreeable to the feelings, but deadly in its ef- 
fects. While, therefore, the south midsummer air of these 
states is encumbered with moisture and surcharged with 
noxious miasma, bringing sickness and death, the pure at- 
mosphere of Texas is renewed and refreshed by lively 
breezes, rolling over its dry, verdant, and waving surface, 
imparting health and vigor to all that inhale them. 

From March t^ October but little rain falls, in compar- 
ison with the most of countries ; therefore the power of the 
sun upon the surface of the land is such, as to exhale that 
little promptly. The face of the open country is accord- 
ingly dry in summer, and the continual action of the sun 
upon the surface so extensively open and dry, causes a 
constant indraught of air from the sea. 

However, I must acknowledge that the climate of Tex- 
as has a more general tendency than that of Louisiana, to 
propagate its soft and luscious qualities, to the serious in- 
jury of its inhabitants; imparting a languidness to the 
body, and a listlessness to the mind, during the warm sea- 
son of the year, which if indulged is sure to increase that 
soathern mania, an indolent disposition. 

And were it not for that peculiarity which is attached 
to the country — an almost unvariable south by west wind, 
which blows strongly, and as one might say constantfy 
throughout the summer months, I have no doubt but the 
heat would sometimes be unbearable, even by those who 
are the most inured to the climate : which climate I have 
experienced, until its changes can be defined into the fol. 
lowing general results. 

CHANGES OF CLIMATE. 

From the first of April, to the last of September, the 
fresh breezes commence early after sunrise, and continue 
till 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when they subside. The 
intolerable heat which follows, and continues until sun-set, 
shows how much these breezes contribute both to health 
and spirits; for the last certainly flag at once when the 
wind dies away, into such a state of depression, as can be 
more easily felt than described. Shortly after sun-down 



CHANGES OF CLIMATE. 83 

a slight breeze rises, and the atmosphere cools gradually 
until midnight, then rapidly until morning, so much so, 
that a person in bed, feels a woolen covering comfortable! 

By thermometer calculations, made throughout this pe- 
riod, during three years, and in several places of the 
country, the mercury has been found to range from 63° to 
103°. Average heat, 9 o'clock, morning, 73° — 12 o'clock, 
noon, 83° — 3 o'clock, evening, 77°. 

Although the winds are so steady and powerful, as to 
give rise to the appropriate saying, 'One man can saddle 
his horse in the States, but it takes two to do it in Texas;' 
still they are a blessing, gratefully felt by the inhabitants, 
and much admired by every stranger. Yet I have no 
hesitation in asserting, that those very winds which sweep 
so freely across the many unobstructing prairies, are the 
cause of no little sickness ; as many when in a state of 
perspiration, will incautiously throw themselves into a 
state of inactivity, where a draft of air can operate upon 
them v/ith fall force; the consequence must unavoidably 
De, either a severe cold, or an ague chill. 

And if the wind should, as it sometimes does, come from 
the east by south, then happy may they be who are at 
this time imprudent, if they should escape with their lives; 
for, instead of the air being impregnated with the clear 
blue waters of the ocean, it is filled with the deleterious 
exhalations arising from the Mississippi and Louisiana's 
green stagnant swamps. Now children begin to droop, 
and continue to do so, until the wind changes to its favo- 
rite quarter again; and adults are sensibly affected, with 
that which so frequently produces headaches, tumorous 
-swellings, chills, and indigestive affections, even on the 
most guarded. 

Bilious attacks, while warm weather lasts, may to a 
certainty be expected; as bilious and intermittent fevers 
are incident to all southern latitudes, and very few north- 
ern ones are exempt. But there are few regions, either 
north or south, where bilious fevers are of a milder type, 
or more within the control of medicine, than are those 
which occur in Texas; providing they are met with by a 
regular course of medical prescriptions: otherwise they 



84 HISTORY OF TEXAa 

may prove both severe and fatal. But, if the patient is 
guarded in his convalescent state against the too frequent 
custom, during that stage of the disease, of using saccha- 
rine vegetables, such as water-melons, musk-melons, cu- 
cumbers, beets, &c. there will be little or no danger; as 
the fevers occasioned by bile alone are generally light, 
and commonly leave the person who has been careful and 
docile, as soon as the bilious accumulation is discharged; 
which accumulation may perhaps appear beforehand to 
have increased with an acrimonial redundancy, apparently 
peculiar to the Texas atmosphere, during the space of two 
or three months preceding that of October. 

This is more particularly the case with those persons 
much given to the use of ardent spirits, or to the eating 
of unripe fruit ; as it has been remarked that children 
who have been indulged freely with dew-berries, water- 
melons, musk-melons, grapes, cucumbers, beets, and such 
like, during the fall season, are taken down sooner, and 
v/hen down are much more severely handled by the fever, 
than those who are measurably debarred from such dan- 
gerous food — if such fascinating ingredients may be call- 
ed so; but they merit no such honorable distinction; 
especially v/hen (as is too often the case with children,) 
they are taken to excess, or when the stomachs of their 
recipients arc in an improper state to receive such un- 
concoc table materials. 

The v/inter season in the province would not by a north 
country man be called severe, by any means; as the 
snow neither falls heavy nor lasts long, and the frost is 
of but short continuance, seldom or never producing an 
icicle over nine inches in length, and one at most in diam- 
eter. Yet as a southern latitude, it is changeable in the 
highest degree, so that the inhabitants would rather in 
this respect enjoy the steady, serene, although severe 
weather, of a more northern one. 

In October and November, the strong north winds set 
in; and the rains which usually fall in these months cool 
the land. About this time the mountains of the interior 
are covering with snow, and serve as generators of cold 
air; while the continued action of the sun upon the waters 



CHANGES OF CLIMATE. 85 

of the Gulf rarefies the air in that direction, and conse 
quently a strong current is produced, of the cold and heavy- 
atmosphere of the north. Hence in the months of De- 
cember and January, the cold northern winds sweep down 
the plains, with nearly as much regularity as the southern 
winds in summer; and in these months the southerly winds 
are of short duration, and soon produce rain, an infallible 
indication of an immediate norther. But February and 
March generally produce less quantities of rain, with a 
longer continuance of high southerly winds. The north- 
west wind is most prevalent in mid-winter; the northeast, 
early and late in the season. 

Often during this season of the year, the south wind 
from the Gulf appears as mild, and the sun as warm as in 
a mid-summer's day; raising the mercury to 75°; creating 
at this time mild and agreeable evenings, v/ith pleasant 
and delightful nights. But as often, although fortunately 
in shorter periods, the north winds blow from the moun- 
tains, cold to the utmost extent; at least feeling so to the 
people, from the suddenness of the change, which often 
decreases the m.ercury in a few hours, from 75° down to 
within 25° of zero. 

Sudden changes appear still more disagreeable in their 
effects, as they verge towards the spring or fall months, at 
a time when the laborer is the most assiduously employ- 
ed; these being the only busy times of the year; more 
especially with the husbandman, in the spring season, as 
the crop must be put in the ground, early indeed, or the 
farmer may in vain look for a profitable harvest, on ac- 
count of the drought setting in much sooner in common, 
than it does in the more dense wooded countries. At 
times the laborer is apt to complain, Uhat it is too warm 
to work;' but there is no occasion for using such a com- 
plaint long at a time, as perhaps in a few minutes after he 
has uttered it, the northeast wind fi*om the mountains, 
roaring like distant thunder, chills hhn to the very heart! 
provided he is not in a situation to mollify its severity, 
either by using uncommon exertions at his labor, or by 
having warm garments to put on, or a secure shelter to 
?IQQ to, 

H 



86 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

However, these annoyances will happily diminish, as 
the people become supplied with good buildings, and plenty 
of warm clothing, which on account of the northerly winds 
are as much needed as they ever were, in any other coun- 
try. By this not being understood, the first settlers suf- 
fered severely. As experience ripens, and abilities allow, 
they will provide themselves, so as in a great measure to 
prevent those colds, pleurisies, and rheumatisms, which at 
present attack so many, and carry off so frequently those 
who have been too fool-hardy, or through necessity have 
been exposed to their malign and deadly influence. 

UPPER AND LOWER TEXAS. 

Having thus considered the climate of Texas with all 
its bearings and tendencies, we shall look a little into the 
minor differences which exist betwen the upper and lower 
sections of the country; both of which feel the changes of 
the atmosphere, hut not with an equal ratio of consequence; 
for the latter, by reason of its vicinity to the Gulf, its flat 
prairies, and above all, its umbrageous woods, shows as de- 
cided a contrast to the former, with its three diametrical 
opposites, as the state of Louisiana does to that of Ken- 
tucky ! 

The inhabitants of this Texas Kentuck, then, have a 
more free and brisk atm.osphere, a less quantity of gener- 
al rain, feel the heat of summer less and the cold of win- 
ter more, than those of Texas Louisiana. This brings us 
to consider the advantages possessed by the upper parts 
over the lower, to the farmers and graziers, equal if not su- 
perior to those the lower possess over the upper, to the 
planters and stock raisers : as a part of every thing which 
grows on the seaboard, will also grow in those parts adja- 
cent to the mountains; although not always so luxuriant, 
nor of course the transportation of them so easy. Yet 
when we balance the difference, in delightful scenery, and 
in healthful feelings, we are prompted to exclaim, ^th'at 
the lower is better adapted to the negro constitution! and 
the upper to that of white men ! 1' 

There is an insurmountable barrier against the comforts 
of the people, and the welfare of their live stock, in the 



UPPER AND LOWER TEXAS. 87 

level parts of the country, on account of the innumerable 
swarms of horse-flies, gad-flies, ticks, and musketoes, -which, 
during a very considerable part of the summer season, 
torment and harass the distressed animals; sucking- their 
blood, and completely debarring them from receiving any 
nourishment during the day. 

So that when the period arrives wherein these insects dis- 
appear, the farmer's stock is not only poor in flesh, but 
perhaps considerably diminished in number; particularly 
if any of them, before the fly time commenced, were re- 
duced by labor, or sickness, from their wonted strength 
and alacrity. In that case there is no alternative but death! 

Yet some stockholders insist, that they would rather 
have it so, saying, *It helps to keep our live stock together, 
which would otherwise scatter and become wild; it keeps 
them about the premises, so that we have no trouble in 
gathering them up ; 'tis true we have to use more calomel, 
but it does not cost much by the pound! and we have 
found it an infallible poison for maggots, as well as the 
best salve for healing up wounds in animals we have ever 
tried.' 

However much a citizen of this region may console 
himself with such reasons, let not an equestrian visiter 
attempt to pass through it, in either of the months, July, 
August, or September, for if he does, wo be to him! And 
hard will be the lot of his poor horse! because, whether he 
is rode in the midst of company, or brushed incessantly 
with brush-wood by his master, he will be by the time night 
overtakes him, covered with blood-clotted hair; especially 
on the belly, shoulders, and breast, which will appear, to 
the eyes of a feeling rider, as if the wretched flies had left 
but little blood remaining. 

Night, which brings darkness, and some protection to 
the horse, brings more trouble and much misery to the ri- 
der. Musketoes and sand-flies will hold their tormenting 
ascendency over him. The eternal hum of the former, 
which congregate around him in such numbers as apparent- 
ly to require the aid of a stick to turn them, must be heard, 
although their incessant attacks may in some degree be par- 
ried by the waving folds of a well applied handkerchief; but 



88 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the latter will insidiously insert themselves, in spite of 
every opposition, into every chink or cranny of his then 
ill-fated body. These two woful pests of the day, with their 
two accompanying plagues of the night, are exclusively with 
a little exception to the sand-fly, confined to the southern 
or level section of the province. One must, however, ex- 
pect throughout the whole summer, to meet in all Texas 
with numbers of every insect, incident to a dry country 
of a southern latitude. 

INSECTS AND REPTILES. 

We shall confine our remarks to a few of those most 
prominent, among this endless variety. There is the house 
fly, according to whose numbers in spring, we may with 
certainty calculate that ratio of sickness to be found in the 
ensuing fall; as putrified substances, impure air, and a 
warm sun, are at once breeder, feeder, and supporter of 
this troublesome insect. Next comes the Spanish or blis- 
ter fly, to be found in greater numbers, quite innoxious to 
the beholder, but dangerous to be handled. Then there 
are but few countries, which can boast of such a number 
and variety of ants. The woods and the dry prairies liter- 
ally swarm with this industrious — and because of his in- 
dustry, pesterous little insect. 

Of reptiles, there are lizards of every Lue, generally 
harmless, except the smooth or broad backed ones. Spi- 
ders also of every diversity abound, from the tarantula, one 
of the most disgusting and venomous creatures in the coun- 
try, (which when full grown will measure when expanded 
from five to six inches,) to the small slender striped one 
of the most insinuating appearance, but as the author can 
testify by dear bought experience, of the most poisonous 
nature. Scorpions and centipedes are as numerous as 
they are dangerous, especially the flat, black-headed cen- 
tipede, which grows enormously large, and whose haunts 
are chiefly to be found under rotten logs and moss grown 
rocks. 

The camping traveler, and the land hunter, will do well 
to keep a bright look out, particularly in the woods and 
their vicinity, for a species of red bug, and the tick. Froni 



MOSS OR SPANISH BEARD. 89 

theiTij especially the ticks, there is no escape. In a single 
night in warm weather, they will gather so affectionately 
upon one's outer man, as hardly, in the morning, to leave 
its complexion distinguishable; and such is their love and 
attachment to humanity, that they cannot be removed 
without great care and ingenuity. In size, shape, and 
color, they resemble that bug which is the horror of good 
housewives. Provided with a probos.cis or trunk, mon- 
strously disproportioned to the rest of the body, they nip 
out a portion of the cuticle, and lay bare the smaller ves- 
sels, from which with their combined powers of suction, 
they make no trifling draught upon a man's system. What 
must be the condition of those cattle and horses, upon 
which hundreds of such wretches cling at once, and con- 
tinue to feed until they are equal to a garden bean, both 
in size and color? 

The question naturally arises upon the best time of the 
year for a stranger to visit that country? October and 
November are the tv/o best months to make observations 
in; and April and May are the next best, so as to avoid 
not only the rapid changes, but the extreme heat of the 
weather. The first impression in either of those months 
is delightful, as well as just; they are also the most favor- 
able seasons, on account of both comfort and health. 

MOSS OR SPANISH BEARD. 

During the time I resided in the United States, before 
I went to Texas, I was led to believe, by any information 
I could receive from others, or any observation of my own, 
that where moss grew on the trees, it was si*kly; and that 
according to the luxurious growth of that singular produc- 
tion, so did the inhabitants of its vicinity, upon an equal 
ratio, suffer by bilious attacks, and intermittent fevers. 
I was the more confirmed in this opinion, by seeing such 
vast quantities of moss, alias Spanish beard, in the lower 
parts of Texas, and the people so sickly looking. 

But how was I astonished, when I found many a soli- 
tary tree particularly live-oak, and many a lonely grove, 
especially post-oak, miles upon miles apart, far up on the 
highest of the highlands, dressed out with equal profusion, 
h2 



90 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

in thoir long flowing robes of sober gray, waving in a 
clear atmosphere, over the driest of situations; where the 
inhabitants, by their good looks and athletic frames, shook 
my former theory to the very center! the more so, when I 
found by experience, that no doctor by the practice of his 
profession alone, (although many had tried it,) could live 
in those upper parts of the province. 

By examining this to mo phenomenon, I found that acr 
cording to the quantity of lime-stone, and lime-stone land 
abounding, so did moss abound also; and the nearer that 
stone verged towards rottenness, the more luxuriant the 
moss: which led me to suppose, that the exhalation arising 
from this kind of rich soil, and decomposing stone, in uni- 
son with the remaining particles of that effluvium, brought 
on the wings of the southeast winds, and deposited on these 
trees, whose attracting qualities over others were more 
congenial to that kind of moisture, was the sole primary 
cause of this singular vfegetation. By considering it thus, 
I saw at once, (at least to satisfy myself,) the beauty of 
these high, open, and ascending prairies ; with the blessed 
utility of those northwestern mountain blasts, in driving 
back the malaria, thus intruding upon the otherwise 
healthy country, to its proper bed, the briny ocean! 

This Spanish beard, besides its usefulness in the mat- 
tress line, and such like, is seized on with avidity by both 
cattle and horses, whenever it can be found by them, in 
the winter season. And, under its protecting canopy, 
the author once felt a grateful shelter, from a shower of 
spring hail-stones, which appeared in many instances, the 
size of hen eggs, measuring in circumference ^re inches! 

In examining the water of a draw-well, which was sunk 
by mishap, through rotten lime-stone, I found it as unpal- 
atable in taste, as it was unbearable in smell and unhealthy 
in nature : but I found the lime-stone water which was ex- 
posed to the air in a running stream, not only the most 
pellucid to the eye of any other, but pleasant to the taste, 
and as healthy as any that ever dropped from the clouds, 
and was purified in a cistern ! 



BOOK VI 



SAVAGES. 

MARAUDERS. 

There has been less bloodshed, in the settling of Texas 
by Americans, than there has been in any other state or 
territory, (Pennsylvania excepted,) in North America. 
True, a few families have been destroyed, and the lives 
of several valuable men taken; but as yet, the number 
^speaking comparatively) has been small, very small indeed. 
There have been also a great many horses and mules driven 
off by the savage foe, and many cattle killed, with a con- 
siderable quantity of useful and necessary articles stolen 
or destroyed; but seldom have they proceeded to extermi- 
nating extremes: though if they had had an inclination 
to do so, there never was much to prevent them from cut- 
ting off at least those white families, and solitary individu- 
als, who had placed themselves at a distance from neigh- 
bors ; and who, for any resistance they could have made 
to such determined heathens, would have fallen a very 
easy prey. But the marauders have rarely disturbed 
them^ — that is, by an actual attack upon their lives, except 
when they have met with the transient traveler or the 
solitary hunter, the possession of whose gun, ammunition, 
and horse, would tempt them to get behind a tree una- 
wares, and as he v/ould pass carelessly by, to bring him 
down if possible. Otherwise, they have been known in 
a thousand instances to be very careful in hiding their 
movements, while about the dwellings of the American 
settlers; passing softly and cautiously around, to find if 
there was a horse left for them to snatch; if not, they 
would perhaps take a little corn from the field, or some 

91 



92 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

small matter else, the missing of which on the morrott^, 
with the moccason tracts visible, would be the only indi- 
cation left, (providing they had not put an arrow in a hog,) 
of their ever having been there. And the peculiar cut of 
these moccasons, or arrows, would be the only evidence 
left to show, what tribe of Indians they were, or pretend- 
ed to be; whether Caddos, Wacos, Touwaccones, Touwi- 
ashes, Anadarcos, Tonquewas, Carancuhuas, Kickapoos, 
Quapaws, Ketcheyes, Ironeyes, or Beadeyes; which have 
of late been the only troublesome tribes, or rather portions 
of tribes, infesting the colonists, with the exception of the 
Comanches, who have frequently paid the American Tex- 
asians a friendly visit, and complained bitterly, while with 
them, of the other Indians' rascality. 

They were just in pursuit of them — to kill tliem, that 
they were! 'American &o&ac^eeZZto' — Oyes! While they 
were gratefully rewarding them with presents, for their 
kind interference; and perhaps at the same time, these 
double dealing cowards had only come on purpose to spy 
out the nakedness of the land; but if they found it other- 
wise, return in a few nights afterward, and drive off upon 
the credit of the more openly hostile tribes, the very horses 
they had pledged themselves to assist in protecting; some- 
times returning these same horses, as a spoil captured from 
the enemy, by their spear and their bow; boldly and auda- 
ciously claiming a corresponding reward. 

What could be done, even after convincement of such 
facts, without more proofs than the Americans generally 
possessed? This tribe were more numerous and powerful 
than all the others put together, that were engaged in 
such petty and puerile warfare. Besides, the Mexicans 
had made with them a treaty of peace, which upon no 
slight provocation, (as will be shown afterwards,) they 
were willing to break. 

However bloodless were the most of these depredatory 
scenes, it may well be imagined by the feeling mind, that 
the situation of the frontier settlers has heretofore been, 
as it still is, by no means enviable. Let us for a moment 
consider a supposed case — a man with a heart-endearing 
wife, and a family of beloved children, perhaps ascending 



MARAUDERS. 93 

in lovely gradation, from the breasts of their afFectionalc 
mother, to the age of adolescence; nay, if you please, 
daughters advanced to a marriageable state : of that man, 
having no_ other arm than his own to protect them from 
death, or the more horrific calamity, violation : and of his 
being obliged to leave them, through the pressure of pub- 
lic or domestic business, too often in not only a helpless, 
but in an agitated state of mind ; by reason of their know- 
pledge through well authenticated reports, of instances (al- 
though but solitary ones,) wherein not only the houses 
have been rifled, but the inmates^ subjected to savage bru- 
tality, in the absence of their husbands, brothers, or hired 
protectors. Now then, think — whether the danger be 
actual or not, so it may be hourly expected in its most 
, horrible forms, conjured up by the excited mind, through 
a feeling of the body's helplessness — what do they suffer? 
A thousand deaths!! since the mind suffers more by the 
terrors of the imagination, than the body does when the 
evil takes place; as we may safely calculate on the pain, 
endured by each individual attack on the first, as equal to 
that which the last endures when it is finally destroyed ! 

Notwithstanding all these spirit stirring, and heart try- 
ing relations, one would naturally fall into the following 
conclusions : that as the country became every year more 
settled, and the male sex ^very day more effective^ by an 
influx of emigration or otherwise, the minds of the people 
would become more easy, and their possessions the more 
secure ; and that their savage enemies, who are in reality 
but remnants of broken tribes, generally disunited among 
themselves, would become less numerous, and of course 
to the Texasians more despicable. Especially when we 
add to the reasons aforesaid, that assistance which they, 
as it would be supposed, might at all times command, from 
those tribes, or parts of tribes which now occupy their 
territory, and have ever since they left the United States, 
been with little or no interruption, the avowed friends of 
■ the American settlers; policy as well as choice dictating 
to the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Cherokees, Cushatees, 
Shawnees, Delawares, Creeks, and Alabamas, by dear 
bought experience in the east, that it is better to be con- 



94 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

tented with half a loaf, than no bread, in the west. Such 
also has been the case with the Carancuhuas, the Tonque- 
was, the Kickapoos, and the Quapaws; although some of 
them have been rather late for their own good, in con 
sidering it thus. 

CIVILIZED TRIBES. 

Not a few of those first enumerated, are so far civilized, 
as to provide well for themselves, without disturbing others ; 
but the Cushatees are, in this respect, the most worthy 
of notice. They have their villages on both sides of the 
river Trinidad; their houses are well constructed, and of- 
ten surrounded with flourishing peach trees ; their gardens 
and fields well cultivated, and often surrounded with good 
fences. They have a goodly supply of both horses and 
cows, with some hogs, and plenty of poultry; use culinary 
utensils, and are remarkable for their hospitality to stran- 
gers. In autumn, when their crops are laid by, they 
range the country in small parties, to procure a winter 
stock of honey, venison, and bear's meat; sometimes leav- 
ing their villages without a single individual to protect 
them. When among the settlements, they conduct them- 
selves with decorum and propriety; and like the rest of 
the friendly Indians, are well acquainted with the distinc- 
tion of property, knowing in the farthest woods, the dif- 
ference between a wild hog, and one that has a mark on 
its ear. 

POLICY OF WHITES. 

There have been but few men, (at least influential 
ones,) who have sat down in Texas, with the spirit of a 
Penn or a Wilberforce. If such there have been, the tor- 
rent of public opinion, biased through the peculiarity of 
their situation, has thrown their exertions, even when they 
would have had their eflTect, into the shade of obscurity; 
discountenanced as they have been by acts of policy, not 
dictated by the spirit of comity, but by that of apprehen- 
sion for the future well being of their country, in case 
there should be any binding promises given, concessions 
of land made, eitlier temporary or perpetual, or other re-' 
wards or emoluments bestowed, whether it be by military 



POLICY OF WHITES. 95 

appointments or otherwise, to purchase the friendship of 
Bavages, generally supposed to l3e always treacherous j for 
say they, «it is purchased today and lost tomorrow; it is 
generally dearly bought, and is never gratuitous, but to a 
superior force. When sold, the first price, though ever so 
exorbitant, is but a prelude to future exactions. A sale 
is only a loan for use; and as the savage is always suspi- 
cious, and never disinterested, the loan is sure to be re- 
called, whenever caprice or interest may prompt. The 
very offer to purchase his friendship, (and all benefactions 
arc construed into such an offer,) carries to his mind, sus- 
picions of inability to compel itj and such suspicions al 
ways excite his contem.pt. Fear alone is the arbiter of all 
his actions and affections relative to others, except his 
own tribe.' 

Again, they continue, « should it once be whispered, 
among the numerous and populous tribes of the north, that 
those of their kindred who have forced themselves upon 
us, by stealth or otherwise, have been by us caressed and 
fostered, a very few years will be sufficient to fill up the 
vacant lands of Texas with a fierce and ungovernable peo- 
ple, who will soon turn upon their benefactors; and in 
comparison with whom the Comanches, Caddos, Wacos, 
and Touwaccones, are utterly jcontemptible and harmless.' 
What goes to confirm these powerful reasons, are the ar- 
rangements made by the United States government, with 
the Choctaws, the Chickasaws, the Cherokees, and the 
Creeks, by v/hich they have severally engaged to migrate 
to the west side of the Mississippi; and beyond the boun- 
daries of the state of Missouri, and of the Arkansas terri- 
tory. Other treaties probably have been made by Con- 
gress, or shortly will be made with other tribes, of a simi- 
lar import; appropriating lands for the future location of 
these nations of barbarians in the western wilderness, and 
for some of them, in tht immediate vicinity of Texas. 

And if this system of removal shall be follow^ed up, by 
the citizens of the United States, with the whole of the 
Indian population in the valley of the Mississippi, which 
no doubt by the nature of things, will ultimately be the 
case, there will then be to the north and northwest of 



96 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Texas, besides those still powerful tribes already mention- 
ed, the Chippewas, Ottawas, Arripahas, Winnabagos, Pot- 
awatamies, Assinebians, Menomonies, Algonquins, Semi- 
noles. Pawnees, Snakes, Osages, Sioux, Sacs, Crows, and 
Black Feet, with thirty-six other smaller tribes, whose 
names are too tedious to mention, but who are still adequate 
to add some 50,000 souls to the 250,000 in the aggregate, 
of all those tribes whose names have been given. 

The removal in part of several of the contracting tribes, 
has already been accomplished ; and though but a small 
proportion of the whole number, contemplated to be re- 
moved, have as yet appeared in the country, designated 
for their future residence, the injurious consequences, 
flov/ing from this forced and unnatural accumulation of 
savages in a territory that is obviously incapable of sus- 
taining them, to the adjacent territory of Mexico, are too 
apparent to escape the most cursory observer. 

It is a fact sufficiently notorious, that a great proportion 
of the country allowed for the settlement of these discor- 
dant nations is a sterile, unproductive wilderness, situate 
in an inclement and unfriendly climate. Such a country 
can present but few inducements to a permanent occupa- 
tion, by a people who have made just enough progress in 
civilization to have acquired many of its most mischievous 
arts, and all its vices, but not enough to endow them with 
sufficient fortitude and patience to subdue a stubborn wil- 
derness to cultivation, or to preserve themselves from re- 
lapsing into their primitive state of barbarism. 

Hunting and predation are the favorite pursuits of sav- 
ages. The chase possesses a fascination that is altogether 
irresistible to the untutored mind, and derives its principal 
charm from the resemblance it bears to war, to which all 
unenlightened nations are passionately addicted. It re- 
quires, then, but a superficial acquaintance with the char- 
acter of these aborigines of the north, who in part, and 
soon in whole, will be translated to the northeastern bor- 
ders of Mexico and Texas, to foresee that in a few years, 
after their ejection from the pale of that power which has 
heretofore surrounded them and curbed their wild propen- 
sities, they will abandon all their acquired habits of civili- 



th 



FOLIC i' OF WHITES. 97 

zation; and then it will require less forecast to perceive, 
that the country in which they are about to be congre- 
gated v/ill be altogether inadequate to their accommodation. 

Without intimating the certain occurrence of feuds and 
V* ars among themselves, and the inevitable dispersions to 
result from them, we may deduce from the principles of 
absolute physical necessity, the fact, that many of these 
tribes will be compelled to spread themselves abroad, and 
to seek a more commodious residence, in a country less 
densely populated, and where the means of subsistence 
are more abundant and of easier access. 

Texas will then, as it has done, and is still doing, pos- 
sess more allurements than is generally supposed to attract 
their notice and excite their cupidity: lying contiguous to 
their newly acquired territory, and possessing a climate 
mild and salubrious, vvith a soil exuberantly prolific, diver- 
sified by alternate forests and prairies, wherein a diversity 
of animals must be found; far remote from any powerful 
civilized population, to check or disturb their occupancy, 
yet still sufficiently proximate to. the villages of Rio 
Grande and to the scattered settlements of Texas, to en- 
sure them ample opportunities cf gratifying their heredi- 
tary animosities, and indulging their passions for rapine 
,and war. 

But farther, hov/ever unwilling v\'e may be, to proceed 
with such a striking picture of future misery and wo, to 
th^ inhabitants of Texas, yet v/e are bound to fill up those 
outlines already drawn, upon the principles of experience 
and truth. The axiom is therefore self-evident, that, ex- 
cept some powerful casualty takes place, contrary to the 
past, and pcesent nature of things, 50,000 Indian warriors 
will for centuries to come have their eyes fixed upon those 
countries, possessed by the Texasians and Coahuilians! 

Start not, gentle reader; I have already shown, and that, 
too, from late authentic documents, the goodly number of 
300,000 persons already destined to hover on the skirts of 
that devoted country; yea, they are already there'. Con- 
sider the 100,000 Indians of the United States, indepen- 
dent of those enumerated in the Mississippi valley, v/ho 
by the pressure of whites on the east, are daily falling 

I 



98 HISl'ORY OF TEXAS. 

back on the west, in as natural a stream, as the torrent of 
the mountain seeks the bed of the ocean. Add to these 
50,000 aboriginals, v/ho claim that country, lying between 
the Rio Bravo and the Sabine, as their own; and if you 
please, 50,000 more of those starved out, frost-bitten Cana- 
dian Indians, who are drawn as unerringly by the sun of 
a southern cJime, as the magnetic needle points to the pole. 
I suppose your doubts now satisfied, having placed at 
your disposal, as a contingent corps of reserve, 200,000 
savages, over and above the number I contend for, to 
make up the amount of effective men, already stated; and 
which should be by the rules of propriety and good man- 
agement, looked for and regarded; because 300,000 souls, 
allowing one able-bodied man to every six souls, will give 
the aggregate number of 50,000 warriors ; for every able- 
bodied adult Indian is, de facto, a warrior. 

WARRIORS. 

Of these warriors there are at present some two thou- 
sand who have pitched their tents within the boundaries 
of the province. This number, though sufiiciently formi- 
dable of itself, considering the wilderness state of the 
country, and the fewness of the civilized population with- 
in it, is rendered still more so, by the uncertainty of their 
ferocious and warlike characters, as regards the safety of 
the whites. They have been long practised in arms, in 
many fierce and bloody contests with the hardy haclc- 
woodsmen of the north, and have always displayed great 
bravery and indefatigable perseverance. 

Their manner of warfare is as ruthless and cruel, as it 
IS bold and enterprising. They are admirably expert in 
the use of the rifle ; and although compelled to retire be- 
fore the accumulating masses of the North Americans, 
who have gradually driven them from forest to forest, and 
beyond river after river, they have never acknowledged 
themselves conquered, but still feel able to contend with 
equal numbers, of the best troops of the civilized world. 

'Should these portions of tribes,' already mentioned, — 
says the public opinion before quoted — 'be permitted to 
obtain a permanent footing in the country, it will inevita- 



WARRIORS. 99 

bly attract the residues of their respective nations to re- 
unite with them; and, if at any time checked in their un- 
reasonable demands, they may join, at least in temporary 
alliance, with those uncompromising and treacherous bands, 
who , combine to devastate the exposed frontiers of the 
State.' 'Other tribes, by their example, would be lured 
to seek a residence on the same principle; so that after a 
lapse of some few years, except some prompt and efficient 
measures are taken to keep in check such a dangerous 
emigration, these northern barbarians will sv/arm in Texas, 
as the Goths and Vandals swanned into Italy: and impel- 
led by the same motives, and the same antipathies, they 
v/ill spread a similar devastation in their progress.' 

Every man, wise, or good, or great, will say Amen ! to 
this last and most important clause of public opinion. Let 
a ranging company or companies be organized in military 
form and order; let them be provided for, by a regular as- 
sessment made throughout the whole province, independent 
of those spoils which may be taken by them from the ene- 
my ; and let them have a regular salary appointed, in case 
of being wounded or otherwise disabled in the service. 
There will at all times be found men enough and to spare, 
who will thus volunteer their services, to the protection of 
the country, and the discomfiture of its Arabinical foes. 

These foes, fortunately for the v/ell-being of civilized 
man, seldom or never act in formidable concert, or the in- 
habitants of Texas would not with their too often disor- 
ganized materials of resistance, have been able so long to 
subsist as a people. But, by their establishing, cherishing, 
and supporting an active, efficient, and always ready cav- 
alry, they, will be enabled to cope, and that successfully, 
with their savage enemies for ages to come : for as certain 
as the sun sets in the west, so assuredly will the last hos- 
tile India,n expire, at the foot of those northwest mountains, 
from whose tops his ancestors ^r^if viewed the sunny land! 

In the savage state the feeling of revenge is, perhaps, 
the strongest and most inveterate that actuates the mind, 
especially of a v/arlike people. And heaven knows, the 
unfortunate Indians were never allowed to remain long 
without suffering abundance of injuries to excite this fcelr 



100 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ing; a feeling which not only their natural propensities, 
but their religious opinions teach them to believe, that it 
is meritorious to gratify. It is reasonable also to suppose, 
that a tast-e for pillage must have its influence upon num- 
bers of those improvident and homeless warriors; a taste 
nott)nly called into action from a sense of injuries receiv- 
ed, but from a feeling of irremediable destitution, and 
habits of unadorned naturalism. And thes« habits are too 
often supported instead cf diminished, by those much more 
savage ond diabolical white men, who are neither actuated 
by custom or necessity, to unite and stir up those ruthless 
hearts to deeds of daring, which they v/ould otherwise leave 
unaccomplished J were it not for the wicked machinations 
of such unprincipled men, of whom too many instances in 
the history of savage warfare are recorded. One of which 
took place in Texas, in the winter of 1830— '31, that the 
writer has good cause never to forget! not so much on ac- 
count of his own sufferings, as the terrors and misery he 
was obliged to witness, in those of his fellow-citizens ; in- 
creased by the forlorn situation of many a helpless female 
and tender infants 

WHITE INSTIGATORS. 

Men of such stamp, as will be found on the frontiers of 
every new country, colleagued with some semi-barbarian 
Washinangoes, (Spaniards who have negro blood in them,) 
to assist them in collecting and stimulating those hostile 
bands which had been for some time back rather timorous 
in their movements towards acts of hostility against the 
whites; but who were now brought forward by these vile 
men, in order that their kinsman, a wicked man and a 
murderer, might be gratified on his pursuers; and that in 
company they might be benefited by the plunder of the 
upper colonists, especially those of De Witt's, where the 
miu'derer had been denied land and a certificate of citi- 
zenship. 

Such a germ of mischief was happily overpowered, by 
the long tried and severe exertions of the Gonzalians, aid- 
ed by a company of patriotic Austinians; although at the 
expense of much property, and of much more valuable lives, 



A RENCOUNTER. 101 

on both sides of the question. I say hotli^ for the feats of 
patient endurance and personal bravery, displayed on more 
occasions than one, by those who were engaged, would do 
honor alike to the heroism of a Roman or a Spartan! 

But as soon as the red men found that their white lead- 
ers had fallen into the hands of their more powerful antag- 
onists, they left their lines of circumvallation, which they 
had drawn so tightly around the town of Gonzales, in whose 
stockaded fort some nights (and these bitter cold ones too,) 
vrere crowded upwards of one hundred and fifty men, 
women, and children; v/hile at the same time the Indian 
watch fires would encircle them like a rainbow, and that 
too so near at hand, as to enable the current of night air 
to waft to them the perfume of their own cattle's beef- 
steaks, preparing for the stomachs of their threatening 
and insidious enemies ! 

After the .colonists' frontiers had been again extended, 
and a measurable security once more attained, a rencoun- 
ter took place betv/een two chieftains from the opposite 
parties, whose destruction v/as as much regretted, as it 
was then unnecessary; the brav-e and humane being al- 
ready satiated, by those scenes of bloodshed and recrimi- 
nation which had already, although unavoidably, taken 
place during the Indians' delusions through the instru- 
mentality of v/hite men. 

A RENCOUNTER. 

Andrew Tumlinson belonged to a family which the 
colonists of De Witt will long remember, as one of their 
chief stays in the dangers of settling those wilds, trod only 
by the children of the forest; which, without true valor 
and genuine patriotism, would have been wrested from 
them, even vv'hen they had just begun to breathe a little 
after their first exertions of settlement, 

This indefatigable champion of revenge for his father's 
death, (vvho some years before had fallen — treacherously 
fallen — while in the act of generously conciliating, with 
his slender m.eans, several importunate Indians,) had vow- 
ed never to rest until he had received satisfaction! In or- 
der the better to accomplish his end, he was one of the 

i2 



102 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

foremost if possible in every skiniiisli with the Indians. 
And that he might be enabled to do so the more complete- 
ly without distraction, he placed his young and beloved 
wife under the care of his brother-in-law, settled his pecu- 
niary aftairs, mounted his horse, shouldered his rifle, and 
headed a ranging party whose motto was, < Peace for our 
brethren, or death for ourselves!!' 

But alas 1 his noble example and honorable career were 
of but short duration. For although he had on several oc- 
casions been at the scattering of his country's enemies, and 
had at one time in the midst of the Carancuhuas' hunting 
ground, unsupported by any man whatsoever, overcome 
their chief warrior and Caziquej yet he fell a victim at 
last to his own imprudence, having but one fault as a sol- 
dier, that of being what is generally termed fool-hardy in 
the pursuit of an enemy. 

His party had been stimulated to investigate the mo- 
tives of a Caddo, whose cunning and resoluteness had 
sometime before, been as sufliciently tested by the Amer- 
icans, as that of some others, who had gone to meet death 
in cold blood, singing their war songs as coolly as if they 
had been going to a feast! For v/hen this unsophistica- 
ted barbarian had been seized as a spj^, and threatened 
v/ith death, by a half dozen of loaded rifles at his breast, 
in order to make him deliver up his knife, he never so 
much as changed color, or winked an eye. He had at 
this time the temerity, (vv^hile he knew that his nation 
were still obnoxious to the whites, and was also well 
aware that deeds of cold blooded retaliation for injuries 
received, had been committed on both sides,) to take up 
his abode in the house yard of a solitary and unsupported 
family in the country. 

Now as he could speak the Spanish language fluently, 
Tumlinson, who could converse with him, commenced an 
investigation of his motives for being found there at such 
a time. But instead of his giving any satisfaction, he 
seized his rifle which was lying by his side, as he sat on 
a log, and sprung to his feet! Clements, the owner of 
the house, being at his side, and with whom the Indian 
had been on the most friendly footing, as quickly expostu- 



A RENCOUl^TER. 103 

lated, and by soothing terms, got him to deliver the gun 
into his hands ; striving to convince him that the Americans 
only wished to be satisfied of his friendly intentions to- 
wards them, having no desire to take the life of one who 
might be so useful in conciliating his red brethren. 

He appeared to acquiesce, by wrapping his blanket still 
closer about his body, it being at this time cold weather, 
and moved ahead of the rifle company. Tumlinson went 
next to him, and although the rest of the party, as they 
were then on foot, requested him, when they had an op- 
portunity, not to go too nigh, as they believed the Indian 
had a knife in his belt under his blanket, yet he heeded 
not the warning,- considering himself perfectly secured by 
his own fire-arms, and his own dexterit}^ 

So much was he convinced of this, that he continued to 
persevere unknown to_ his colleagues, in such a course of 
interrogation, as aw^akened still more the suspicions of the 
Indian that his life was to be taken! Tumlinson must 
have noticed this, not only by the Indian's caustic laugh 
at the end of every question put, but at last by the move- 
ment of his right hand under his blanket. He fired! but 
not quicker visibly, than he fell, with the Caddo's knife 
in his heart!! as the savage had sprung quick as the tiger 
on his prey. And although Tumlinson's rifle bullet had 
passed clear through the center of his body, yet his devo- 
ted victim appeared to be no more in his hands, than the 
most diminutive animal in the paws of the bear ! For he 
was a man of gigantic frame, as well as one of the hand- 
somest and best built sons of the forest: to which v.as add- 
ed a most undaunted soul, as appeared by the catastrophe 
in this case. For he well knew, that not only his ov/n 
life, but his son's (a young lad who was innocently bearing 
him company,) would be taken upon the spot, by those 
who were behind, and who were not only keeping their 
eye, but their rifles in rea-diness. They consequently 
blowed his brains out as he lay over the body of Tumlinson, 
and had just turned his face to them, distorted with a most 
exulting grin: as much as to say, «I a^ revenged, do your 
worst! for 1 die happy!! when I h^e been enabled to 
sacrifice another white man, to appease the manes of my 



J 04 HISTORY OF TKXAS. 

fathers.' The boy fell ako, after he had sprung some dis- 
tance in a zig-zag and see-saw war motion, peculiar to the 
Indians J learned by them in their youth, in order that 
they may avoid if possible the bails of their opponents, by 
rendering it almost impracticable for the best marksman 
to draw a sight or bead upon them. 

SUBDUED TRIBES. 

Although the citizens of the upper country have been, 
and still are from time to time thus molested, 3-et the in- 
habitants of the lower districts are noiv in no little measure 
entering upon the enjoyments which arise from compara- 
tive security; having reduced the two most 'warlike tribes 
of the sea coast, vv'ho with any claim of prior right held 
that most valuable part of the country, and who m.ade such 
a formidable resistance as at one time to excite universally 
[he most serious fears for the consequence. For they 
were sUvages of a most ferocious aspect, and their hostility 
to the whites for usurping their territory so inveterate, that 
no presents could mollify, nor any mildness attract; reso- 
lute in war, and determined in enmity; neither giving nor 
appearing to w^ish merc}^ 

The Tonquewas were the first subdued, as they were 
considerably reduced in number by the Comanches, who 
had, for some years previous to the settlement of the whites 
in the country, carried on with them a predatory warfare. 
But the defendants, although their situation was upon 
higher ground than that of the Carancuhuas, still pre- 
served themselves from extermination, by their peculiar 
mode of fighting, on foot under the cover of a thicket; 
which gave rise to a cautionary maxim among the whites 
of the country: <Take a bush like aTonquewa!' But as 
the Comanches always move on horseback, armed and 
equipped not only with the usual arms of an Indian war- 
rior, but with a long spear, having a sword blade for the 
point, and a buckler or shield, made out of the thickest 
portion of a buffalo's hide, they are indeed a formidable 
body to~ be met with on the plain, as a Comanche's body 
and his horse's back can never be separated in battle, unless 
one or the other is killed. ^ Of course thev can make no 



SUBDUED TRIBES. 105 

impression on a hiding enemy; therefore did the Tonque- 
was continiTe a pretty strong and formidable body, until 
the Americans entered their territory, to whom they sub- 
mitted after there were but few left. 

The Carancuhuas, by taking up their position in the 
cane-brakes and salt-marshes of the Gulf shore, were not 
so easily conquered ; and if it had not been by a well con- 
certed movement of the whites, they would have continued 
much longer than they did, a grievous annoj^ance. But 
as the main body of the tribe were encamped on a neck 
of land opposite the bay of Matagorda — employed, while 
they least expected it to be a war instead of a fishing 
match — they were at' the break of day completely hem- 
med in by a company of undaunted and determined men, 
who cut them off, man, woman, and child ! ! as it was im- 
possible in that dark hour of sanguinary revenge to dis- 
criminate between the innocent and the guilty. By thus 
doing, the absentees were completely humbled, sued for 
peace, and received it! 

These Carancuhuas, were once a powerful tribe, for- 
merly inhabiting the whole of the Texas sea coast; and 
were reputed to be the most ferocious of cannibals. Hence 
probably, the Spaniards w^ere little 'disposed to invade 
them, or to visit their country without a strong military 
escort. Hence also, it is le^ss surprising, that they ac- 
quired little knowledge of the coast ; and thus supplied the 
place of knowledge with tales of fictitious horrors. That 
they were by nature of the anthropophagi race of beings, is 
to be very much doubted! But, that they w^ere in the 
latter days of their existence as a tribe, through necessity, 
when confined in the v/oods, swamps, and prairie cane- 
brakes of the Bay coast, without their natural food of ven- 
ison, bear meat, fruit, &c., or through the vindictivenecs 
of their exasperated spirits, were drawn into the horrific 
system of Toupinambaltism, whenever they had an oppor- 
tunity of triumphing over their fallen foe, is not to be vvon- 
dered at — when we consider that the shipwrecked mari- 
ner, and even the besieged citizen of civilized life, have 
(and that too often, alas for humanity!) had to cast lots — 
not for the lives of their bitterest enemies — O no; but for 



1 06 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the bodies of, it may be, nearest neighbor, best friend, or 
dearest relative, yea perhaps their tender and beloved off- 
spring, that the balance left might happily be preserved a 
little longer ! 

UNSUBDUED TRIBES. 

The people of the province have but few tribes of any 
consequence by numl3er, to contend v/ith, v*ho claim by 
right of precedence their hold on the country ; so that they 
are in no little measure participating in the pleasures of 
their acquired rights, derived from their granted, as well 
as from their persevering bravery: which rights have here- 
tofore been the more enhanced, by their government's 
generosity towards them, in rendering every assistance 
possible with troops, in order to overawe the grumbling 
savage, and repel the insidious attacks of their worming 
foes. Those soldiers, however, that have been kept on 
the frontiers of the republic, for such a purpose, have never 
been much required by the American settlers, nor when 
sent, their protection much depended upon ; as they are in 
general a lazy mixed blooded race, despicable in their ap- 
pearance, and far more in their qualities ; braggadocios in 
security, but when in danger, generally appearing to be 
much more afraid of the Indians than the Indians are of 
them. 

It is a well known fact, that to colonize the province of 
Texas with Mexicans of the above stamp, was an utter 
impossibility; as the government had frequently tried it 
through the instrumentality of the Washinangoes, and as 
frequently failed. Therefore they were obliged, to the 
sincere regret of those towns lying between the San An- 
tonio and the Rio Bravo, to abandon the project of settling 
their southeastern borders by Mexican natives; as there 
were none of the pure blooded getiuine descendants of the 
European Spaniards, M'ho would risk themselves in the 
agricultural and grazier's pursuits, on the skirts of the 
republican territory. 

And by such means as were pursued, the Indians were 
soon taught to believe that the Mexicans were afraid of 
them; and took, as they still do, every opportunity of har- 
pssing them, if they should happen to foil in with them 



UNSUBDUED 'J'RIBES. 107 

unsupported by Americans. But if the Mexicans should 
back out, and leave them the plunder, they appear perfect- 
ly satisfied v/ith that, though they may at the time have 
the advantage otherwise. They give such reasons for 
their singular forbearance, as would not disgrace the most 
refined politician of Europe- for however chimerical it 
may appear to my reader, they have not hesitated to de- 
clare, and that too at many a conference held with them, 
while in amity with the Americans, « that they did not want 
to kill those who were so useful in raising horses and mules 
for their special benefit'.' In confirmation thereof, they will 
often go into the precincts of Bexar, and other towns on 
the east of the Rio Grande, driving off horses and mules 
in droves, while they could without danger to themselves 
kill the herdsmen: but they pass them by as if they saw 
them not; most frequently receiving the grateful blessing 
of the Washinangoes, for being so merciful as to" grant 
them such an honorable gift as their cowardly lives ! 

As a proof thereof, how often have the soldiers of the 
Bexarian garrison- been obliged by an order of their mili- 
tary duty, as soon as they saw a body of Comanche horse- 
men alight in the public square, to run without delay and 
catch the horses j as their riders had left them, with a 
careless and consequential air, knowing their slaves would 
not only strip them of their trappings, but afterwards tend 
them in good pasture, and prepare them at the risk of 
chastisement, whenever their masters thought fit to with- 
draw. Yea, when this powerful tribe wishes to raise the 
wind, as the saying is, they will carry back a Mexican 
cavy-yard, which perhaps they had previously stolen theni- 
selves, but now pretending that they had taken it from the 
hostile Indians, and demandmg a valuable reward for such 
friendly exertions ! And this demand, from motives of state 
policy, is sure to be complied with, however unreasonable 
the amount of the reward may be, or whatever suspicion 
might suggest on the propriety of such conduct. 

This tribe of Indians inhabit the countiy lying to the 
north and northwest of San Antonio de Bexar. They are 
a wandering race, but always moving in bodies of some 
hundreds or thousands at once ; so that they can with ad- ' 



108 HISTOUy OF TEXAS. 

vantage and without fear follow up those immense herds 
of buffaloes and wild horses, with which these plains are 
stocked, to the amount of thousands in one herd or drove. 
These horses are not natives, but descended from the stock 
brought over by the first Spaniards. Domestic animals, 
and man himself, become rude, w hen removed from the 
associations of civilized life. Hence the figure of speech 
so often made use of by the inhabitants of Texas, to 
denote any wild and uncultivated person: as wild as a 
mustang ! 

These Comanchcs are perhaps among the most active 
and skillful horsemen in the world. When they descry 
an object of attack, or pursuit, they dart forward in a co- 
lumn, like lightning, tow'ards it. At a suitable distance 
from their prey, they divide into two squadrons, one half 
taking to the right, and the other to the left, and thus sur- 
round it. If in pursuit of the buffalo, (which is called by 
them, the red man's cow,) they act with prudence and 
forethought, carefully passing by the females and their 
young. Not so with thq mustang horses; which they 
either catch and tame for service, or kill for subsistence. 

This is the only numerous and powerful tribe of Indians 
now known in North America: for the Pawnees are de- 
scended from a cousin-germanship of the same stock, gov- 
erned by the same principles, lav/s, and regulations, as 
the Comanches; 'who have one head chief and many sub- 
ordinate ones. They hold regular councils quarterly, and 
a grand council of the whole tribe once a year. At these 
councils all important matters are decided, and all prison- 
ers taken for offences arc tried. Their discipline is rigid. 
If a hunting part}^ takes the life of a North American after 
making prisoner, without bringing him to trial before the 
council, the offenders are punished with death. Not so 
vvdth tlie Mexicans, who are considered, almost in the 
face of all treaty, as enemies, and treated as such.' 

This hatred is fully reciprocated on the part of the Mex- 
icans. Hence the origin of the epithet expressing odium, 
so general in all parts of Mexico: to denote the greatest 
degree of degradation, they call a person a Comanche. 
But this name has a different meaning in all Texas; for to 



UNSUBDUED TRIBES. 109 

pass the highest praise on an American's horsemanship, is 
to say, he rides like a Comanche ! 

Such general freedoms as the Indian tribes have taken 
with the Mexicans, they have not as yet, nor do I believe 
they ever will take v/ith the American population of the 
country: although I have, as well as many others, been 
often led into a belief, by reason of that listlessness dis- 
played by the inhabitants of Texas territory, when called 
upon to unite and persevere in pursuit of such daring mis- 
creants when they had committed a nightly outrage, that 
it was surely more on account of the American name, as 
to what they had done in a national capacity against the 
Indians, than as to what the Americans of Texas have 
with effect done against them of the interior, that the cit- 
izens of the frontiers were not all massacred in cold blood. 
For there seldom or never appeared to be a unanimity of 
council on the methods to be pursued with them.. Of 
course those bold spirits who would have followed them to 
their mountain haunts, had often for want of support, to 
abandon their laudable design. 

Thus savage insults had to be put up with, too often for 
the future peace of many a helpless family ; leading them 
to suppose that some time or other, those barbarians would 
be emboldened by the passiveness of the whites, to pro- 
ceed from stealing to murder! although they were well 
convinced, whether they should be alive or not, that such 
barefaced audacity as entering their settlements in the 
day time to steal, or into their houses during the night 
season to kill, would never be suffered long at a time, 
without the living taking for the dead a fearful and severe 
revenge ! And of that I am satisfied the Indians feel some- 
what assured, by the cunning and sagacity they display 
in their approach and their retreat, when they either de- 
sign or accomplish a nefarious end. 

Self preservation is the first law of nature, arid self 
preservation must prevail ! even in that feeling mind which 
shudders, when it contemplates the deplorable situation of 
the red men; who have been, ever since Columbus dis- 
covered the Western world, driven from place to place, 
and from one end of the continent to the other, by white 

K 



110 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

men; until the small remnants of the once powerful nations 
are in some degree reduced to the dire necessity of de- 
stroying one another, without mercy, that the balance may 
live a little longer! 

Yet so it is, and so it appears it must remain; as no 
scheme entered into by the philanthropist for their benefit 
has been as yet, except in a few solitary instances, crown- 
ed with success. To my knowledge, the government of 
Mexico offered to small remnants of Indian tribes, particu- 
larly the Carancuhuas and Tonquewas, land and protection, 
upon the same principle as the whites, providing they 
would go to work upon the soil. 

Would they comply? Nol no I! They are at this time 
hovering and skulking about the settlements, in a starving- 
condition, maugre ail they can pilfer and steal; as they 
dare not go aback and hunt, on account of the bitter hatred 
borne to them by every one of the independent tribes, be- 
cause of their paction, as they term it^ with white men, 
such as hewers of wood and drawers of water;, as the Amer- 
icans say, «work and we will give you to eat.' In such a 
state they are dwindling away, and must soon become ut- 
terly extinct 1 

CHOCTAW TRADITION. 

When visiting the Indian villages in the neighborhooa 
of Trinidad river, I met vv ith a singular phenomenon, and 
spent some time in its investigation : but whether it par- 
took most of the natural, or artificial order, I was not able 
to determine ; though in meeting afterwards with a friendly 
Choctaw Indian, he labored to convince me that the sub- 
ject of my awakened curiosity was a combination of both. 
We took a stand together on a shelf of the adjacent rocks, 
and the scene of our investigation lay before us. As it 
would be impossible to follow with minuteness the circum- 
locutions of the old warrior, I shall therefore confine my- 
self to the leading points of his oration. 

"Long before the white men came across the big wa- 
ters, the Great Spirit had revealed to the red men, that 
from the far east, the children of the Sun would come roll- 
ing on his rays, and alight in their country ! Red men 
would be delighted ; they should live together as brothers ; 



CHOCTAW TRADITION. HI 

but the children of the Sun should become greedy, until the 
patience of their brethren was exhausted. Blood would 
be spilled; the red men would fall before their white breth- 
ren, as the leaves of the dry tree fly befoi*e the hurricane 
blast of the angry storml until the red men would disap- 
pear from the face of the earth, as the water of the clouds 
from the surface of the dry ground. 

"A Gazeke, who feared the Great Spirit, and listened 
to his words, before he laid himself down to die, called up 
his two sons, Choctaw and Chickasaw, and warned them 
of their danger, sg^^iing, ' Give ear and live ! The children 
of the Sun are commg by the command of the Great Spirit; 
they will devour-the childi-en of the earth, with the raven- 
ous appetite of the wolverine, when it has seized the harm- 
less argali of the mountains. Take therefore your wives 
and your children, and all that you have; move towards 
the rising of the sun; and after a journey of three moons 
you will come to a great river. On its opposite banks 
you will find plenty of venison, and none to eat it. There> 
stay, and grow up in peace under the protecting wing of 
the Great Spirit, far from the destruction of your brethren. 
And see that you fall not out by the way!' 

" They listened to the voice of their father, because he 
loved them ; and they hearkened to his words, because he 
was their father- But as he was to leave them, who had 
been for a thousand moons, as the light of the sun to the 
eyes, and as the voice of the Great Spirit to the ears of 
his people, they asked him, 'what they should do if the 
white men should come to their habitations on the east of 
their river of rest.' 

«' He told them, * they would come, and afterwards they 
should teach his children many things which they did not 
now know ; and that they should smoke with them the pipe 
of peace; while their red brethren who brandished the 
hatchet of warj should be scattered by the white men, with 
the rapidity of the ocelot, when it alights amid a company 
of weasels, disputing over the body of a forest squirrel.' 

" The two sons obeyed the voice of their father, and 
when the daj'^s of mourning were over, they moved on- 
ward to fulfil his. dying injunctions, with their wives and 



112 HISTORY OF TEXAB. 

their little ones, in love, unity and peace, until they came 
to this beautiful spot, where they proposed to sojourn for 
a time ; Choctaw and his people encamping over this ledge 
of rocks, Chickasaw and his follov/ers taking possession of 
yon, while that placid little vale lay pleasantly between. 

"Nacojack, the son of Choctaw, loved more than he did 
the apple of his eye, Coosa, the daughter of Chickasaw, 
who was beautiful as the ocelot, graceful as the antelope, 
industrious as the beaver, and as playful as the squirrel, 

" The lamp of night shone in splendor around, and the 
gems of the firmament hung over the earth in joy, when 
Nacojack paid a visit to his beloved^oosa. The sha- 
dows of night passed unheeded by, and Auroi*a found 
them, before the blush of maiden innocence had left the 
face of Coosa, as she had consented to become the wife of 
Nacojack. 

" Yalobusha, a great warrior of the tribe of Chickasaw, 
envying the good fortune of Nacojack, and observing him 
(as he lay reclined on a shelf of the rock,) emerge from the 
hut of Coosa, called to the young men of his father's teats, 
'to look if yonder grisly bear had not devoured a fawn of 
the fold, since the warriors had been musing in the shades 
of repose'.' 

"The sound of derision filled the ears of Nacojack, like 
the growl of the puma, when he threatens his prey. The 
spirit of his anger svvxlled like the waters of Tezcuco, 
' IIow,' he cried, ' shall the provv^ling wolf from the fen of 
Zacatecas, retard the motions of the bufialo?' 

" He turned on his heel with the movement of disdain, 
as a rock from the mound, throv/n by the hand of Yalobusha, 
hit the crown of his glory, scattering the leaves of love's 
bouquet, (which had just been placed in his hair by the 
hands of his Coosa,) to the genii of contempt! 

"The jeering laugh of exulting mockery, as it rose from 
the tents of Chickasaw, reached the ears of the young 
warriors of Choctaw, as they beheld the disgrace of their 
heroic leader; and mounting the spirit of revenge, they 
flew on the wings of the wind to retaliate on the heads of 
his despisers. 

"Yalobusha, and the young warriors of his tribe, dis- 



CHOCTAW TRADITION. IIS 

daining to meet such boys except with child's weapons, 
tore up the fragments of rocks which lay under their feet. 
The scoff of defiance arose on the peaceful breeze; the 
combatants thickened to the rescue of their mates. The 
rocks which had been split by the Great Spirit, were lifted 
by the demon discord, and thrown at the heads of the chil 
dren of passion; until the voice of the old men were lost in 
the hurricane, and the commands of their caziques were sunk 
in the tornado! For the Great Spirit was angry with his 
children; he spake in his thunder, and moved on the clouds, 
sending down a storm of hail-stones, with the forked ar- 
rows of his lightning, until the guilty race quivered in hi'/ 
presence. The squaws could bind them with ease; their 
spirits were cowed; they were odious to themselves. They 
had offended the Great Spirit, by fighting v/ith their 
brethren I 

"A reconciliation took place among the living; but many 
were slain ; and many wounded, so that they never more 
were able to leave the sides of their squaws, and follow 
their brother warriors to the chase, or the fight. Yalobu- 
sha, in the melee, sunk to rise no more. 

" Nacojack lost an eye, and was disabled in every limb; 
yet did his Coosa n-ever leave him, but prepared for him his 
euscosGo,and provided his mat, as long as he lived — saying, 
«Ono, my Nacojack!' when he would beseech her to look 
around upon the young men of her tribe, and waste not her 
days in unavailing sorrow upon one whom the Great Spirit 
had humbled in his pride; and whose prayers were odious to 
his ear, or he would take him to the home of his fathers, 
no more to trouble his Coosa. ^O no! — Coosa never leave 
you ; Coosa go when you go, to the land where our fathers 
have gone: for when they rejoice over their son, I must 
see it, as his squaw, and be happy too!' " 

After the old warrior and chief had ended his traditional 
story, he added, (in corroboi-ation of his statements being 
of divine origin, so far as to the commands laid on them 
by the dying Cazeke, before they left the plains of Mexico, 
to dwell on the east of the Mississippi) « that the Choctaws 
and Chickasaws had never spilt the blood of a white man!' 
I was not sufficiently versed in history to contradict him; 

k2 



114 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

perhaps my reader may: if so, still these two tribes have 
somewhat to boast of, for I believe they have never been 
at open war with the American citizens. 

Be these things as they may, a virtuoso will find that 
spot well worth his attention; for he would there see a 
level, green, smooth surfaced prairie, of some quarter of a 
mile in breadth and half a mile in length, covered with 
small rock-stones; in some places lying close together; 
in others more or less scattered. Of the many tons weight 
of these loose stones, very few are of a size that a strong 
man might not throw with ease a hundred yards; while un- 
der ground there are still fewer of any size. 

Examining the grit of these loose stones, and comparing 
them with the rocks which skirt two sides of this little plain, 
we find that the grain is the same in both, Nay, farther, 
we find these rocky shelves split and shivered by nature 
into myriads of pieces ; while some of the loose stones in 
the very center of the flat will exactly correspond with a 
fissure of a shelf. What is still more remarkable, there is 
not a single stone of a contrary concretion to be found, 
among the many millions this spot contains. Nor can they 
be met with any where around, except taken from the face 
of those rocky ridges ; as the opposite sides of them are 
covered with the earth of the higher ground; which gives 
them in front a singular and picturesque view, as if they 
were intended for a fence to this — as it ever must be — 
interesting piece of spotted ground. 



BOOK VII. 



THE MEXICANS. 

NATIONAL CHARACTER. 

In taking a retrospective and impartial view of the Mex- 
ican nation, we shall find that as a people, they will (at 
least ever since they expelled their last king, Iturbide,) 
bear a comparison with the Roman republic, aiter the ex- 
pulsion of the Tarquins; much more so, than any other 
people we are acquainted with at the present day. Wit- 
ness their innate love of liberty, and the internal commo- 
tions of their government, occasioned by the inordinate 
ambition of their leading characters, who are by nature, 
vocation", and politics, of the most discordant materials 
ever wrought into the form of a nation, since the days of 
the first Romans ; and like them, having been bred and 
reared in the lap of war, feel a reluctancy to lay down 
their military pov/er, and its flattering consequences. 

In no one thing, however, are the favorers of despotic 
power more mistaken, than in supposing that they will 
ever submit to be again ruled by a crowned head ! or even 
long by an aristocracy. Because, whatever may be their 
divisions among themselves, or upon whatever principle 
of republicanism they may as a people disagree, one thing 
is reduced to a moral certainty : that no nation or people 
will be allowed to interfere j nor any State of the present 
confederation be suffered to withdraw itself entirely, by 
violent means, to a state of independency ; or, by its own 
negotiation alone, place itself under the protection of any 
other government. 

But, in order to give my reader a just estimation of the 
actual situation of the Mexican confederation, I shall sub- 
mit to his inspection historical facts, taken from public 

115 



116 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

documents and raithenticatecl information, which must, as 
iliey ought, have far more influence on the mind, than the 
mere assertions of an individual. As such, they deserve 
to be diligently and carefully perused; since the United 
States of Mexico, as they still call themselves, are the 
only neighbors, v/ith the exception of Canada, which the 
United States of America possess. Therefore, are their 
policy and feelings highly interesting, both in a moral and 
political point of view, to an American citizen! 

CONFEDERATION. 

The United States of Mexico formed their constitution 
in 1824, upon the plan of the American Federal Union* 
the devTutions are but trifling. Nineteen States and foui 
Territories, these last all in the north, compose the con- 
federation. A President is elected for four years, and 
cannot be re-elected j with a Senate of two members from 
each state, and a member of Congress for each 80,000 
population. 

Every inan at eighteen years of age, becomes a voter; 
no other qualification being required. There is no dis- 
tinction of property, taxation, or color. Indians and Mes- 
tizos, negroes and mulattoes, are equally free citizens and 
voters. Although negroes are but fev/, there is a negro 
general and other commissioned officers in the army. 
This is considered a great improvement upon the federal 
constitution of America, which acknowledges all men as 
free and equal, yet allows of negro slavery and Indian 
oppression. 

POPULATION. 

The population of the Mexican States is over 9,000,000 
It has increased ever since 1794, when it was only 
5,200,000; and even during the civil war of the revolu- 
tion and independence ; since in 1806 it was only 5,500,000, 
although it is calculated that over 300,000 must have per- 
ished in these wars and troubles. It is annually increas- 
ing, independent of those devastating commotions which 
have filled their country, ever since 1825; as it was then 
only 6,850,000. 

The present population may be divided as follows : 



POWEH. 117 

1 . The unmixed Indians, which are about 4,000,000. 

2. The Mestizos, or offspring of Spaniards and Indians^ 
about 2,500,000. 

3. The Creoles, or offspring of the Spaniards, about 
1,500,000. 

4. The Washinangoes, or offspring of Indians and ne- 
groes, about 1,000,000, including the mulattoes of white 
and black blood, and many of mixed origin. 

5. The Negroes, about 100,000. 

6. The Guachupins, or Spaniards born in Spain, nov 
reduced to 10,000. They were 80,000 before the revc- 
iution and late expulsion. 

7. The Esteros, or strangers of various nations, English. 
Scots, Irish, French, Italian, German, Americans, &-c. &c., 
about 30,000. 

8. The Texian colonists, independent of those Spaniards, 
Indians, and negroes who reside among them, 35,000. 

POWER. 

This relative population evinces that the Indians and 
Mestizos form the bulk of the nation, and now having 
equal rights, are surely to rule it at a future time. The 
Guachupins v/ere ovlq,g the rulers; the Creoles have suc- 
ceeded them, and have been compelled to admit the Indians 
(whom they nicknamed irrational I calling themselves ra- 
tional!) to equal rights, in order to carry on the struggle 
of the revolution, which could not have been accomplished 
without their assistance. But, they foresee that power 
cannot last long in their hands, and wisely try to amalga- 
mate the castes. None but the most deluded try to stem 
the current of irresistible number, pov/er, and future sway. 

These Indians (remember, not the northeastern Indian 
of degradation and, often, wrongful oppression, but the 
southwestern Indian of honor and grcv/ing esteem) are by 
far better than the Spaniards and Creoles in many re- 
spects. They are gentle, industrious, Konest, and kind. 
This applies to the bulk of them, who are nearly all culti- 
vators. Those who live in the cities, or near them, are 
more or less tainted by the vices of the Creoles, and ex- 
ceed them in their thirst for pulque and aguardiente; while 



118 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

far from the towns they are quite sober. Intoxication, 
however, has not the same effect on them as on the north- 
eastern tribes. 

Pulque, or the beer of Maguey, is not stronger than 
spruce beer, and merely renders them heavy or stupid. 
The aguardiente is a bad kind of Spanish brandy; it makes 
thejn rather sullen, seldom noisy, and never outrageous. 
Bii it is not in the vicinity of towns that they must be 
ju/ged; it is only in their villages and fields, that they 
cqn be seen to advantage, in their genuine simplicity and 
^\|brth. 

/Their physical character is somewhat different from the 
i^orth and eastern tribes. They are commonly of a ruddy 
cwnplexion, rather small; the highest men seldom exceed- 
ing five and a half feet. Many have aquiline noses and 
large eyes; there is, however, much diversity, according 
to their tribes. In Zacatecas and the mountains, they are 
as white as the Creoles, and the women are beautiful; 
whiter than the Creole ladies, and 'ever with rosy cheeks. 

The Indians make excellent soldiers, both infantry and 
cavalry. Before the revolution the Spaniards did not al- 
low them the use of fire-arms : they who are capable, are 
now all armed and trained as militia. They feel their 
strength, and yet do not abuse it: the Creoles at least are 
the leaders in nearly all the strifes and civil commotions. 
By the military laws put in operation, during the war with 
Spain, and which have seldom been interrupted, all citi- 
zens, the Indians of course included, must serve three 
years in the army — from eighteen to twenty-one. 

Each state has an army, from which a rate is sent to the 
Federal army, now limited to 25,000 men. After these 
three years of active service, they are enrolled in the 
militia, and allowed to return home; but liable to be call- 
ed up again at any emergency. Thus a formidable army 
and militia is formed, mostly native Indians, who may be 
called upon to perform important actions in future. God 
grant that they revenge not the wrongs of the Indian race, 
upon the posterity of all their oppressors, from the north 
to the south. Thus the descendants of the ancient Mexi- 
can and other tribes, subdued by the Spaniards, and either 



WORSHIP. 119 

enslaved or made abject vassels, are become freemen! 
Every village has an Indian alcalde or chief, now elected 
every two years. In the villages where hereditary chiefs 
or caziques were retained, they are commonly re-elected 
every time, being so much respected by their people. 

WORSHIP. 

After the alcalde the cerate or priest is the principal 
man : he is named by the bishop. Many of them are In- 
dians also ; but when so, they enter into all the feelings 
of their flocks, not like the former Spanish, and present 
Creole priests, who are often tyrants yet, or at least strive 
to fleece and amass money in any way. For instance, 
they used to charge twenty dollars as a marriage fee to the 
poor Indians, M^hose wages were only twentj^-five cents 
per day : whence arose the practice of cohabiting without 
leave of the church, and thus compelling the curate to 
marry them gratis, to avoid the sin and scandal. As yet 
in many districts, the priest exacts three dollars a year 
from each Indian, to defray his future burial! But the 
hold of the church over the Indians has never been com.- 
plete, and is now fast wearing away. One of the princi- 
pal reasons for which the Catholic religion was made ex- 
clusiye, v*as the fear of all, or nearly all the native popu- 
lation relapsing to their ancient religion ! They all more 
or less lean tov/ards idola,t.ry. The worship introduced by 
the Spaniards, was only a different kind of idolatry. The 
Indians called the Spanish saints the Idols of the Guachu- 
pins, (a contemptuous name for the Spaniards,) while they 
call their ancient gods, the Idols or Saints of their Ances- 
tors. In remote villages they keep both kinds of idols, 
and crown with flowers their ancient ones in preference; 
praying to them \i\ secret. Nay in some parts^ the wor- 
ship of the rising sun is privately preserved; as many In- 
dians despise their curates, whose life, especially in remote 
places, i^ seldom without blemish, often indulging in con- 
cubines, and even polygamy, which the Indians seldom do. 
Moreover, the curates of Indian blood, have a secret long- 
ing to substitute the old idols for the Spanish saints : and 
when a religious freedom shall be proclaimed, which must 



120 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

happen at some future period, one third pcrnaps of the In- 
dians will return to the solar worship and idolatry. >Then 
missionaries of a more rational religion will have an ample 
scope to enlighten these deluded men. 

mSTRUCTION. 

As to instruction, it is very low as yet, but a change is 
fast approaching". Although the Spanish is become the 
general language of the Mexicans, yet many Indians re- 
tain their own languages : many others speak no Spanish, 
and but few speak it altogether. This will impede for a 
while the diffusion of knowledge. Though all ought to be 
taught to read and write by the priests, and Lancasterian 
schoote which have been established in many places, yet 
their elementary instruction is often neglected. And as 
few or no books are printed in the Indian languages, it will 
even avail little with many till all are taught Spanish. 

NEGROES. 

Slavery has been happily abolished, without difficulty. 
The negro and mulatto slaves either left their masters in 
the war, or were freed by them. In all the sugar planta 
tions this was found very advantageous to the owners. 
One hundred free negroes, though receiving double wages 
to the Indians, are found to produce as much sugar, as two 
hundred do in Cuba, without the owner supporting their 
wives and children; or to produce from 500 to 700 dollars 
each in sugar, at a mere salary of 150 to 200 dollars. 
These negroes are, however, overpaid, and are in conse- 
quence become drunkards, vicious and unruly. Indians, 
properly taught, would perform the same labor at half price. 

MIXED RACES. 

The Indians dislike the negroes, and yet intermarry 
with them without difficulty. Their offspring, called 
Washinangoes or Zambos, are very hardy and clever, but 
rather cowardly. However, they appear to be best calcu- 
lated to bear the pestiferous climate of the low lands, and 
are not liable to the black vomit which there attacks the 
whites, the Indians, and even the negroes. 



WHITES. 121 

The Mestizos (or half-breeds, as called elsewhere,) unite 
the good qualities of their respective parents. They are 
handsome, active, industrious, and gentle : while the fe- 
males are often handsomer than the Creoles. 

WHITES. 

Three kinds of v/hites are now found in Mexico. Those 
not born in the country are politely called Esteros, or 
strangers, when they are not Spaniards. The bigoted 
Spaniards and priests, once called all the heretic stran- 
gers, English and Americans, by the name of Judeos, or 
Jews ! but the impression is wearing off. The Indians like 
these strangers, provided they eat, and drink, and act as 
they do; and have an impression that they are of the an- 
cient Mexicans, carried oflf by the Spaniards. If they 
learn their language, they are at once called brothers, 
and treated as such. In five years they become citizens, 
and never find any difficulty to marry Creoles, if they are 
Catholic, or conform to a few observances : and among the 
Indians, their alliance is deemed an honor at any time. 
The North Americans were once the most beloved and 
favored nation; but the English ascendency, and late oc- 
currences have completely changed the scale 1 The French 
and Italians, being Catholic, are very soon amalgamated. 
But the pride and behavior of the English are seldom ac- 
ceptable; though their money and talents have a great in- 
fluence in making them respected and feared. 

Guachupins and Spanish born are synonymous in Mex- 
ico. This name now implies a bitter foe ; and is equiva- 
lent to the name of tory and loyalist, in the revolution of 
North America. Eighty thousand of them monopolized 
throughout the Mexican states all the offices of trust or 
profit in the government, army, and church, until the late 
revolution — or deliverance, as it is called. Their alli- 
ance was courted by the Creole ladies, who married them 
for the pride of wealth and power ; but often taught in se- 
cret to their children to despise their fathers. Now they 
are openly detested by their own children ! Their wealth 
gave them great influence during the revolution ; and even 
after it, they formed a dangerous party in the state; so 

L 



122 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

that their late expulsion was neither a cruel nor unjust 
act, but politic and perhaps indispensable. They had 
been treated more mildly than the loyalists were in North 
America. They were only expelled or exiled, until a 
peace should be proclaimed between the republic of Mexi- 
co and Old Spain. Their estates have not been confiscated 
— as those of the loyalists — but given to their wives and 
children: and they were allowed to take away all their 
movable property. This was perhaps wrong. They took 
away 140,000,000 of dollars out of the country, draining 
it of this immense capital j and employed part of it since, 
in the last Spanish invasion. This capital ought to have 
been sequestrated till the peace j or used as a loan to the 
state. 

The Creoles have been in power, ever since they drove 
the Spaniards from their situations. They occupy nearly 
all the offices; sharing, however, many with the Indians, 
who are gradually becoming the majority in Congress, 
and in the State Legislatures. The two classes are merg- 
ing or blending under the revived national name of Mexi- 
cans; but the wealth and knowledge of the Creoles will 
perhaps balance for a long while the numbers and votes 
of the Indians. The Mestizos, though siding with the In- 
dians, form a mutual link of some influence between the 
above two classes. 

Many qualities and defects, are blended in the Creoles : 
they are amijible, gay, and active, but vain, fickle, and 
deceitful. They boast of being as wise as the Greeks, 
and as brave as the Romans! They are too lazy to work, 
but very bustling in every thing else : too fond of gambling, 
smoking, and carousing, but sober, abstemious, and gene- 
rous ; liable to warm passions and excesses, but prone to 
friendship and liberal sentiment; seldom revengeful or 
cruel — often forgiving and magnanimous. 

The lower and poor sort of Creoles, however, called Le- 
peros, in the towns, are much worse, vicious, lazy, nig- 
gards ; too proud to work or beg ; fond of cheating and 
pilfering; ignorant and quarrelsome. Yet they make 
good soldiers, and colonists,' when they can hire servants 
to work for them; or miners when they can get a mine; 



POLITICS IN MEXICO. 123 

or cattle driversj muleteers, &c., when they can own .cat- 
tle and mules. 

The female Creoles are rather pretty, captivating, and 
amiable ; but indolent, ignorant, superstitious, and extrav- 
agant ; and still addicted to the vice of smoking. Ostenta- 
tion, vanity, and love of change, are also among their 
prominent traits. Confessors easily forgive peccadilloes, 
and are very indulgent for the fair sex! Some, however, 
become excellent wives and mothers ; and even the worst, 
after the days of dissipation, return to propriety, decorum, 
and moderation. 

POLITICS. 

Mexican politics and political parties have often changed, 

during the course of the revolution, and since. They were 

at first Patriots and Guachupins; next Republicans and 

Imperialists J latterly Federalists and Centralists, under 

the nicknames of Scots and Yorkinos. But ever since 

' 1830, two great parties have sprung up, much more likely 

I to divide the whole population,- while formerly Creoles 

' and Spaniards were the main partisans. These two new 

' (or rather very old) parties are, the Country party and the 

I Creole party, each subdivided into some factioiis. 

i To understand properly their views and aim, we must 

fall back to the time the Mexican states were yet at war 

I with Spain, their independence not yet acknowledged, and 

; their system of self-government as precarious and fluctu- 

I ating as it was in the United States between 1783 and '89, 

even after the peace with England. 
I The Country party, calling themselves patriots and old 
I Mexicans, are the most numerous, including nearly the 
i whole Indian and mixed population. They are nicknamed 
' Gentes irracionales, or irrational folks, by the Creoles; 
j whom they c^ll in return Sons of the Guachupins. This 
party, although comprising the bulk of actual ignorance, 
I reckon many enlightened men. They hate and detest 
; the Spaniards, calling them invaders, despoilers, tyrants; 
! denying their ever having been conquered by them under 

ICortez. They say their ancestors the Mexicans were 
overthrown by their foes the llascallans and their allies; 
, among whom were a handful of Spaniards, who spread ter- 



124 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ror by fire-arms, and after the destruction of their ancient 
city Anahuac, (now Mexico,) disarmed all the Indians; 
slew their nobles, their priests, and their warriors; de- 
stroyed their temples, saints, and books of all kinds ; took 
to themselves all the wealth, land, and noble women; re- 
ducing the people to abject ignorance, cruel vassalage, 
and imposing upon them new saints or idols. But now 
these tyrant Guachupins are expelled, the Creoles being 
Mexicans like themselves, sons of the noble ladies, stolen 
by the invaders, they form only one nation; and the In- 
dians being restored to freedom, the use of arms and equal 
rights, they ought to be allowed freedom of worship, a 
greater participation in offices and emoluments, with a 
general education- And they also demand the correction 
of many abuses ; above all, the reform of the church, army, 
and finances. Such reasonable requests may be delayed 
by the Creoles in power; but the Country party idll sooner 
or later prevail, and rule the country. 

The factions among the Country party are merely dif- 
ferences of opinion on some points of policy; and the Cre- 
oles endeavor to split them into new parties, so as to 
weaken the whole. Thus some think that peace ought 
never to be made with the Guachupins or Spain, no money 
paid for the acknowledgement of independence, and no 
Guachupins allowed to settle again in the country, after 
the peace. This feeling was pretty general: their oppo- 
nents called them Anti-Guachupins ! 

Another section wishes to confiscate the whole church 
property, to pay the debts of the state, and abolish all the- 
exactions of the priests, paying to them a moderate stipend. 
This sentiment has many partisans in the army, and even 
among the Creoles; but the priests and the priest-ridden 
call them all injldels. 

A third section of these patriots wish to establish a 
general land tax, so as to form a permanent revenue. 
But the great land owners, some of whom hold immense 
estates, and have great influence as yet in the govern* 
ment, strenuously oppose this salutary measure; which 
might compel them to parcel and sell many estates, but 
would provide a fund to pay all the expenses of govern- 



POLITICS IN MEXICO. 125 

ment, interest on loans, arrears of the army, &lc. Thus 
as yet, while monopolies, stamps, and lotteries are resort- 
ed to, and the income always falls short, the whole landed 
estates are untaxed. The second party, of the Creoles, 
often calling themselves the rational, or wise folks, rule 
the country, and that too at present by means of the gene- 
rals and bishops, nobles and land owners, priests and 
monks, judges and lawyers, monopolists and office holders, 
who are mostly Creoles. But in the army of the states, 
legislatures, and professions, the patriots have a majority; 
nay also among land holders. But the Indians have only 
small farms and gardens, while the Creoles often own 
princely estates of 50,000 or 100,000 acres ! 

They affect to despise and hold in contempt the Indians, 
accusing them of ignorance, stupidity, and many vices : but 
they know that these very vices are such as enable them 
to mislead and govern the Indians, and acquire their aid 
and support, whenever specious patriotic pretexts are of- 
fered. Many liberal Creoles are uniting themselves with 
the Country party; and others will follow when they find 
that they must jdeld. 

Thus the Creole party is divided into several factions. 
First, the Aristocratic, wishing to support the church and 
land holders in all their immunities. They are also call- 
ed YorMnos and Anglicans, because under English influ- 
ence, and leaning towards European connections. Nay, 
some of them have yet a secret longing for the paternal 
Spanish sicayl This party ruled the country, after the 
overthrow of Guerrero by Bustamente. The second fac- 
tion of this party, called the Centralists, wish to abolish 
the federal constitution, and form a central government. 
Many members of the army and church belonged to it, 
and found it needful to support Bustamente against the 
patriots. The liberal Creoles, the old Imperialists and 
the Spanish party (for there are yet some loyal Creoles,) 
are as many other sections of this party. The two last 
are of little importance, neither feared nor to be feared; 
but the liberal Creoles, who are daily increasing at least 
in number, will soon throw a great weight in the scale of 
the Patriotic party. 

l2 



126 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

The faction which, instead of a party, now govern vnth 
no little power, are the Aristocrats and Centralists, in 
opposition to the Country party, or Patriots and Old Mex- 
icans. The Centralists are supported by the Aristocrats, 
and headed by Santa Anna, a soldier of fortune, or ra- 
ther a fortunate soldier! ambitious, cruel, and avaricious 
— bold, artful, and enterprising; a man who has been as 
often made use of to pull down an administration, by those 
who hate and despise him, as by those who love or fear 
him. He had it in his power, after gaining the confidence 
of the Republicans (although they remembered he was 
an Imperialist) to emulate a Washington ! after the fall of 
the too aristocratic Bastamente's administration. But his 
six qualities having been crowned by a seventh, talent — 
supported by circumstances, the pedestal on which stand 
the fortunes of men! he has chosen to imitate a Bonaparte. 
And his fall will be different, although equally disastrous. 

Towards the North Americans, the actual administra- 
tion under Bustamente, and the present administration un- 
der Santa Anna, with two thirds of the balance, bear no 
good will, but rather distrust and dislike. They complain- 
ed on Poinsett's meddling with the politics of the country, 
and of his insulting the nation, by offering to buy Texas, 
a federal territory, unalienable by the constitution, of 160 
millions of acres, for ten millions of dollars, or six cents 
per acre: and that, when he found his offer objectionable, 
he further insulted the Mexican nation by offering a loan 
of ten millions, as a pawnbroker would, upon the pawning 
of Texas until repaid ; which insidious proposal, said they, 
was meant to fill the country of' Texas exclusively with 
Americans and slaves, and to hold it afterwards at any 
event — the United States never meaning to restore it! 

This was deemed even by the patriotic party, who were 
great fi-iends of the Americans and Poinsett, an insult sim- 
ilar to an offer of the Mexicans to buy or pawn Louisiana 
or Arkansas, if made to the Congress of the United States. 

They now complain as they did then, that citizens of 
the United States encourage the excursions of the Coman- 
ches and other predatory tribes against New Mexico and 
Texas ; furnishing them with arms, buying their spoils, 



POLITICS IN MEXICO. 127 

fitolen horses ana mules, yea even Mexican freemen, who 
are bought as slarves, and some mulattos and Indians, held 
as such in Louisiana. And that the United States, by in- 
vading gradually all the Indian lands, and removing the 
Indians on the borders of Mexico, commit a great injustice, 
and lay a foundation for future troubles and quarrels with 
Mexico; further evinced, by their perfidy towards Indians 
in the south and west; breaking solemn treaties with them; 
leading the Mexican nation to believe, that they will not 
deem sacred any treaty made with them, whose population 
are similar to the persecuted Cherokees, Creeks, and 
Choctaws. 

Their complaints now, whether just or unjust, are, that 
American emissaries have been and are still suggesting to 
the Texasians, to rebel and declare Texas independent of 
Mexico; or even ask a union with the United States who 
will allow the bane of slavery ! And that the adopted cit- 
izens of Mexico will be supported in their turbulent dispo- 
sition, manifested so unequivocally in 1835, as Barradas 
was in 1829, whose troops were chiefly carried over from 
Cuba to Tampico in North American vessels, and some 
disabled ones allowed to refit in New Orleans, the Span- 
ish troops well received, recruited and actually sailing from 
New Orleans to invade Mexico! These subjects of com- 
plaint have been artfully fomented by the English agents 
and party. A cry was once raised for war against the 
United States ; a loan of two millions was offered to carry 
it on — to invade Louisiana, (Z^cZare all the negroes free 
— expel all the American settlers from Texas, granting it 
exclusively to its foreign settlers, &lc. Even the patriotic 
party and friends of North America were staggered. 
Nothing is more calculated to alienate them, than the treat- 
ment of Indian affairs in the United States. These two 
nations, which ought to be natural allies, were thus on the 
verge of becoming foes ! However, the prudence of the 
administration and the unsettled state of internal affairs 
prevented actual hostilities. 

The American government at that time hushed up the 
affair of Texas, recalled Poinsett, and evinced symptoms 
of conciliation. A treaty of commercial arrangements 



128 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

was entered into, and happily concluded, to the satisfac- 
tion of all parties. But the influence of those feelings, 
aroused in the minds of the Mexicans, has been so great, 
that the Americans, who were the most favored nation, 
have ceased to be suchj and their merchants, captains, 
travelers, settlers, &c., have been often insulted. The 
English merchants have availed themselves greatly of 
this, to increase their customers. Formerly, the North 
Americans were welcome any where. Now their situa- 
tion is precarious in Texas, and even in the city of Mex- 
ico ; as they believe every advancement made by an Ameri- 
can to a Mexican, has some sinister motive under it, pre^ 
judicial to the advantage of free trade. 

In any future contest v/ith North America, the Mexi- 
cans think that they will be quite a match for their north- 
ern neighbors. It happens, say they, that the nearest 
states to Mexico have a large slave population, v/hich it 
will be very easy to rouse by an offer of complete free- 
dom: also the borders of the two countries are tilled with 
Indian tribes, driven by the United States, and very un- 
wisely concentrated in a vulnerable point, which would 
join the Mexican soldiers, who are nearly all Indians. 

The Mexican population will soon equal that of the 
freemen of North America. They are becoming war- 
like, and the table land population has no dread of a cold- 
er climate. This does not imply that the Mexicans ever 
mean to make conquests; but they can and will retaliate 
if attacked or deeply injured! 

It is an important fact, that the whole population of 
Mexico is free, and increasing, notwithstanding all the 
checks from civil war and struggles, domestic quarrels, 
and local difficulties. There is no slavery to weaken the 
social system; and nearly all the Indians are cultivators, 
except a few straggling tribes in the north and northeast. 
The various ancient nations of different speech, have all 
blended under the proud name of Mexicans, and possess 
unanimity of national feeling. 

Thus the Mexicans start into the rank of independent 
nations with double the population, at least, of the United 
States in 1783, and with thrice as many freemen. These 



MEXICAN FINANCES. 129 

freemen have increased Iavo millions between 1825 and 
1835, or one in seven every five years. This would dou- 
ble the population in thirty -five years ; and how much less, 
when peace and security shall be established. 

A striking fact to prove this may be found in the state 
of Michoacan, (the cradle of revolutions, and which has 
most suffered) having increased, by actual returns made, 
from 365,000 in 1822, to 450,000 in 1827, or 85,000 in 
five years,- at the rate of nearly 25 per cent, which would 
double the population in 20 years. Thus it is not unrea- 
sonable to suppose that, in 1850. the Mexicans may be fif- 
teen or sixteen millions; and in 1870 perhaps thirty mil- 
lions, which the North Americans can scarcely exceed 
then, even with their slaves. 

FINANCES. 

We must acknowledge that the finances of the Mexican 
people, were in a wretched state for many years, and are 
not much improved yet; but the same was the case in 
North America, between 1784 and 1789. It may even 
be asserted that there is hardly any system of finances ; 
and yet the country offers the most ample means to build 
one, if able hands could manage them, and a Hamilton be 
found. The Ministers of Finances have all been unskill- 
ful or greedy, and during the revolution every thing was dis- 
organized: the mines and mint almost suspended: collec- 
tions became difficult; the capitation tax of the Indians, 
which produced about 1,500,000 dollars, was very properly 
abolished; and every thing was thrown into a confusion, 
from which it has not yet recovered as it ought. Before 
the revolution, the revenue of Mexico was about twenty 
millions of dollars ; of which half was sent to Spain, and 
half spent in the internal administration. In 1828 the fed- 
eral income was only about fourteen millions, all spent in 
the country; and yet the army, interest of loans, and every 
thing else were in arrears. The state taxes and revenue 
were independent of this. This federal revenue arises 
from customs and the mint; monopolies of tobacco, salt, 
pulque, and gunpowder; lotteries and privileges, the post 
office, stamps, and tolls, &/C. 



130 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

These are the ordinary means. The extraordinary 
ones are loans, contributions, donations, confiscations of 
the property of exiled Spaniards who have taken arms 
again ; and lastly repartitions, or the contingent of each 
state to make up deficiences, which is seldom paid in 
time. The state taxes are light, chiefly raised by local 
monopolies and excises or tolls, in the towns. 

All the monopolies are farmed to insure collections. 
That of tobacco and snuff has lately been granted to Eng- 
lish capitalists, who give annually two millions for it. 
Many other branches of revenue are al&o farmed, and 
even the custom house is nearly so, or at least so com- 
pletely in the hands of the officers that they control it, 
taking good care to pay themselves first. Exactions, bri- 
beries and compromises for smuggling, are by no means un- 
common: nay, they have a very absurd and vexatious 
privilege, to buy up any imported goods at cost, which are 
invoiced too cheap. Monopolies, although deemed obnox- 
ious, are preserved, because they form the only certain 
revenue, all the other branches being liable to great fluc- 
tuations. 

Loans have been precarious, and afforded only a mo- 
mentary relief. The two English loans united were 
£6,400,000 sterling; yet they produced only twelve mil- 
lions of dollars in Mexico, while interest is to be paid on 
nearly thirty millions. Thus interest being suspended, 
no other loans on better terms can be obtained. Thus the 
Mexicans have lost their credit abroad; while they could 
easily raise a revenue of twenty-four millions, which 
would be only three dollars upon each individual on an 
average. 

Land, property, persons, and the whole church are un- 
taxed; while a general land tax, or a general capitation, 
might save the country : but the rich oppose the first, and 
the poor the second plan. A judicious medium is yet to 
be found. The holy church, owning one-fourth of the 
wealth, is not yet to be touched. High duties on imports, 
(which lessen their consumption and customs,) are the only 
available and popular incomes; because they are little 
felt by the poor, who consuixic few luxuries, or by the 



MEXICAN LANDS— AGRICULTURE. 131 

rich, who get every thing so much under the Spanish 
prices. No country has more need of one or more banks 
than Mexico, where so many metallic transactions take 
place; but the idea of a bank is yet unpopular, because 
the parties distrust each other, and fear the abuse made 
of them in the United States. The people are afraid of 
paper mone}^; from which they have happily been preser- 
ved, notwithstanding the attempt of Iturbide : and thus they 
are so far better off than the United States in 1783. 

Many other financial resources could be stated or found, 
but the sale of public lands is beginning to draw peculiar 
attention. 

PUBLIC LANDS. 

The Mexicans have one thousand millions of acres of 
good land, besides as many of barren land, to sell, inde- 
pendent of Texas; which, at the assumed rate of forty 
cents per acre, may produce in future from three to four 
hundred millions of dollars. 

Thus they will sell land cheaper than the United States, 
and at a longer credit of six years. The one-half of this 
land is suitable for sugar and cotton, and all useful staples 
may be cultivated by freemen. And any poor man, white, 
red, or black, can buy it wUhout a cent in his pocket, and 
raise enough on it before the price is due to pay the small 
cost, and be wealthy to boot! This leads me to take a 
survey of Mexican agriculture. 

AGRICULTURE. 

No country is more favored by nature in this respect. 
Low-lands and table-lands, from Texas to Yucatan, can 
produce every production of the globe — sugar, coffee, and 
cocoa, as well as cotton, wheat, and wool ; besides the pe- 
culiar staples of vanilla, jalap, cochineal, &lc^ A farmer 
or settler has only to choose and consult his own conveni- 
ence, or abilities; and if industrious he is sure of wealth 
and comfort. In the settled parts, Indian laborers are 
easily procurable : twenty-five cents per day, are the aver- 
age wages of their free labor. 'But there the land is all 
in the hands of the aristocracy. Some of them own es- 
tates as large as a county in the United States. If they 



132 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

could be induced to parcel them on long leases or ground 
rents, they would become richer still, and as many wealthy 
patrons, like the Rensselaers of Albany, in New York: 
while the land would be filled with farms and gardens, as it 
is in Oaxaca, the ancient estate of Cortez, and other places, 
whose Indians are land holders upon a moderate quit rent, 
such as the fue rents in Scotland. These estates are va- 
riously appropriated: some are mere cattle farms of vast 
extent, while others are immense sugar plantations. 

Sugar, coffee, and cotton can be raised cheaper than in 
the United States, or in the West Indies, and that by free 
labor too; but owing to the civil troubles, not enough is 
now raised for the home consumption; and some is still 
imported from Cuba, Jamaica, and Louisiana. The bad 
system of fallows is yet universal: three-fourths of the 
large estates are thus kept, and one-fourth planted by 
turns in the annual staples. 

Plantations of coffee trees, olive trees, grape vines, and 
other permanent cultures, are but few as yet: oil and wine 
are, however, made. Cocoa, maguey, vanilla, and cochi- 
neal are also perennial staples, well cultivated by the In- 
dians in some districts. The other agricultural products 
are indigo, pimento, tobacco, aloes, maize, wheat, pulse, 
&c.; besides the great animal staples of cattle, mules, 
horses, sheep, goats, wool, hides, wax, honey, &c. &.c. 
nice, silk, and a few other productions, are little known, 
but might be very easily introduced. Irrigation is well 
practised, even by Indians, but manures are unknown. 

Maize, or Indian corn, is the chief food of the Indians, 
(with chocolate, and fruits,) and eaten in the shape of tor- 
tillas, or flat cakes — pronounced tortees, A Mexican 
laborer or soldier, can live upon the daily value of two 
cents! The produce of maize, is wonderful: an acre has 
been known to yield two hundred bushels; and some stems 
are twenty feet high, with five or six large ears on them. 
Wheat only grows well on the table land, but there com- 
monly yields twenty-five for one; while in Europe only 
twelve on an average ; and in Kentucky, on the best of 
land, only twenty-two for one. In the irrigated lands of 
Mexico it has been known to yield from forty to eighty 



MEXICAN COMMERCE — MINES. 133 

for one! To produce one million pounds of sugar, only- 
one hundred and fifty laborers are required — one hundred 
men and fifty boys — while three hundred are required in 
Culja and Louisiana. The production of Mexican coffee 
is still easier: twenty men can attend to 200,000 trees, 
which produce an average of 300,000 pounds weight. 
Women and boys do the picking, cleaning, and preparing. 
This free labor will sooner or later supersede the need of 
colonial slave labor; and slavery may cease by becoming 
useless and unprofitable. 

COMMERCE. 

Although the Mexicans v/ill chiefly become a great ag- 
ricultural nation, commerce will follow as usual in the 
train. Between two great oceans, they will turn their 
attention, after police and tranquillity shall be restored, to 
greater intercourse with Europe, North America, China, 
and the East Indies. At present the whole trade, as one 
may say, is in the hands of strangers, chiefly English and 
North Americans. Of the vessels that entered Vera Cruz 
in 1826, onl}^ six hundred and twenty-six were Mexican; 
and all coasting vessels; four hundred Americans, ninety- 
five English, and fifty French. The English have now 
more vessels in the trade, than all the rest put together. 
Several ports are open in the east and west shores; yet it 
is said that the imports and exports have fallen in amount 
since the revolution. This may be ascribed to the cheaper 
value of the imports, and the less bullion exported. 

MINES. 

Mexican mines are indeed much fallen off, and no longer 
the same source of wealth as formerly; though three great 
impediments were removed at the revolution: first, the 
duty on silver and gold was reduced to three per cent. — 
it w^as ten per cent, before ; secondly, quicksilver for amal- 
gamation has been made duty free ; thirdly, several local 
mints have been established. Formerly all the bullion 
was to be coined in Mexico alone. Besides, foreign capi- 
tal and machinery were introduced, but could not compen- 
sate for the Spanish capital withdrawn, (which was one 

M 



134 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

hundred and forty millions,) and the local difficulties of in- 
security, prejudice, inexperience, want of fuel, &:.c. &c. 

In 1823 was established the first English mining com- 
pany. They are now ten: English seven — North Amer- 
ican two — German one. They have spent 12,000,000 of 
dollars, or more, in draining old or exhausted mines, instead 
of seeking for new ones; introducing useless and expensive 
maehinery; and importing miners from England, who are 
of less use than the Indians. The result has been, that 
all these companies (except perhaps the German, which 
was more judiciously conducted,) have failed in their ex- 
pectations of great wealth, and sunk a vast capital. Some 
mines were not drained, after five years' labor from the 
commencement of their attempting them; producing then 
but little silver. Of course they became discouraged. 

But the mineral treasures of Mexico are not exhausted. 
Three thousand millions of silver have been drawn from 
them in three hundred years, or an average of ten million 
dollars per annum. As much remains, if not more; but it 
must be sought for, and the practical mode of the Indians 
resorted to again. In the single smaller mint of the pat- 
riots, in Zacatecas, they coined fifty-four million of dollars 
between 1810 and 1827, in the midst of a cruel civil war. 
It is expected that in 1836, if peace and quietness should 
prevail, twenty-four millions of bullion may be produced in 
all metals, as before the revolution. 

It has lately been ascertained, that the great mineral 
v/ealth extends far to the northwest, beyond the supposed 
limits of latitude 24, and much beyond Sonera; and there 
the ores are richer, yielding six per cent, of silver, while 
in the south they hardly give two per cent. 

MANUFACTURES. 

Mining has been considered as a lottery, but in Mexico 
it is rather a manufacture of bullion. A great deal depends 
on a good location. In old mines the working is always 
half of the amount or more. The baneful system of the 
Mita, or compulsory labor of the Indians, at the mines of 
Peru, was never introduced. The usual mode latterly, was 
to work on shares, the owner allowing half the silver to 



MEXICAN MANUFACTURES. 135 

the Indian miners : this they liked well, because it gave 
them a chance of great profit. The mining companies will 
be compelled to return to this plan. 

Sugar making is also a complicated manufacture, in 
which the Indians are likely to supersede negroes. Brown 
sugar can be produced by them at the low rate of one cent 
a.nd a quarter per pound. In Cuba the lowest rate is two 
cents, and in Louisiana three and a half cents per pound. 
There a negro slave only raises 4,000 pounds of sugar: 
in the fertile soil of Mexico an Indian can actually produce 
8,000 pounds yearly. 

The manufactures in which the Indians excel, are jew- 
elry, sculpture, carving, and all the ornamental arts ; they 
are also good painters, musicians, masons, ^c. They 
make beautiful and wonderful vases, similar to the admired 
Etruscan vases of antiquity; toys of all kinds, wax figures, 
feather mantles and mosaics, masks, ornaments, saddles, 
cotton cloth, ornamented cloaks of great value, &c. They 
are susceptible of being taught any other art, being skillful 
and industrious in all their pursuits. 

All kinds of European manufactures were discouraged 
or forbidden by the Spaniards, and the late struggles have 
not allowed yet of their turning much attention that way. 
The English and foreigners have also supplied all their 
wants at so cheap a rate, compared with former prices, that 
"they have not felt the need of a change. But a change 
must happen when trade, commerce, good roads, and man- 
ufactures will be attended to: every thing almost, is yet 
to be created in that way. Planters and manufacturers 
will realize in Mexico greater wealth than the miners! 
The Creoles disda.in ail kinds of handicraft: they apply 
-themselves merely to agriculture, trade, and professions. 
Foreign mechanics have therefore ample scope. Even 
tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and smiths, can realize 
two to four dollars per day, while Indians are content with 
twenty-five cents. 

Clothing of all kinds is very dear. Hats, coats, shoes, 
shirts, &c. are the best articles to import: the next are 
iron, hardware, hosiery, glass, paper, silk goods, dry goods, 
woolens, &c. The French wines have superseded the 



136 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Spanish wines. The first manufactures needed in the 
country are paper, gunpowder, hats, glass, arms, wool- 
ens, &c. 

LAWS. 

The laws of the country are mild. All crimes are 
judged by the Federal Courts; the State Courts having 
only cognizance of civil suits. A Federal attorney watches 
in each State over the local laws, so as to prevent any 
unconstitutional infringement : this may be deemed an 
improvement upon the federal system of the United States. 
Trial by jury has not yet been established, because the 
people are not quite prepared for it. But there is no im- 
prisonment for debt — the shame, in so many states, of the 
Federal northern Union! Credit is low, because the 
country is so unsettled, and because payment may be 
postponed a long while by lawyers, and by bribing the of- 
ficers of the law. Indeed, bribery is a glaring evil in the 
whole system of government, borrowed from Spanish pre- 
cedents and practice; something like what the United 
States borrowed of England, to put debtors in jail and keep 
them there, for simple debts only. 

ARMY. 

The standing army is another evil; but it was needful 
while the war with Spain lasted. It is now a tool in the 
hands of the ambitious and turbulent. In 1827 the whole 
army was 35,000 men, with 30,000 reserve; besides 10,000 
militia in. activity, and 25,000 in reserve. But these 
100,000 men were scattered through such an extent of 
territory, that it was not easy to collect at once a large 
force to oppose the invasion of Barradas. 

In 1835, the actual army and active militia was 200,000 
men, of which 50,000 formed the federal army, and 
150,000 belonged to the states, being supported by them. 
They are independent of the enrolled militia, which is 
calculated at 800,000 men. Thus the Mexican confede- 
ration have a disposable force of 1,000,000 of men, inured 
to the use of arms ! This calculation is made independent 
of their adopted citizens the Texasians. 

The federal army is furnished by rates from each state : 



mm 



MEXICAN CHURCH. 137 

the pay is enormous, and a great source of expense. 
Each soldier of infantry has $1 25 per day, and in the 
cavalry $2; the officers have proportionate large salaries. 
This makes every one anxious to enter the army. But 
the soldiers have no rations; they must clothe and feed 
themselves : the states furnish nothing but arms and am- 
munition. The horsemen must even provide their own 
horses 5 but a horse can be had for fifteen to twenty-five 
dollars, and a Mexican soldier can live upon four tortillas 
(or johnny-cakes) a day ! 

However, this high pay is alwa5's in arrears, being dif 
ficult to collect; and soldiers seldom receive any thing, 
but new clothes when they are in rags, and these charged 
to them at an extravagant rate. As to their food, they 
are often compelled to borrow, beg, or levy it, by military 
contributions. They are cheered, however, by the love 
of country and liberty, with the a^ctual privileges which 
they possess over the peasantry; such as not being amen- 
able to any tribunal but court-martials — promises of land, 
plunder, &c. The army is altogether liberal, but very 
turbulent; there are too many officers and generals who 
want to cut a dash, and strive to acquire wealth and fame, 

CHURCH. 

The Mexican church vtnd clergy may be deemed another 
evil indeed, because they monopolize in a few hands so 
much wealth and land. One archbishop, nine bishops, 
and about 5,000 churchmen, form the secular clergy, in-' 
eluding the Indian curates; besides mc-nks and nuns, in 
one hundred and ^fty convents and nunneries, chiefly Do- 
minicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and Augustinians. 
These leeches, as many call them, possess estates, pro- 
perty, and income, to an immense amoifnt, all untaxed. 
They have also the management of all the ohras pias, or 
pious legacies for benevolent purposes, said to amount to 
25,000,000 of dollars, mostly lent on mortgages; besides 
nearly 30,000,000 lent to Spain before the revolution — 
which became a claim at the peace. The whole army is 
against the church, and claim their useless property to pay 
their arrears. The leaders alone, who fear without loving 
m2 



138 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the clergy, have heretofore restrained this feeling; more 
particularly since their idol general, Lopeas de Santa An- 
na, has glutted them with plunder from another source! 

The Spanish monks and priests, who were the most dstn- 
gerous to the state, have all been expelled: the Creoles 
have taken their place. There had always been a jealousy 
between them, and now they triumph; but the old monks 
having taken hold of all the lucrative possessions, wallow 
in wealth, while they try to keep under the young moijks, 
by allowing them merely three dollars per month for their 
pocket mGne3\ 

Nans are diminishing: very few have become so of late 
years, and no young ones ; only a few old women tired of 
the world — or rather dissipation. Young monks are more 
common. The sons of Creoles embro.ce the profession, as 
a wealth}'-, indolent mode of life : for monks have few re- 
straints. They go out any where, frequenting even gam- 
bling houses, theatres, and places of amusement. Their 
morals are very low: thus they are despised. The Cre- 
oles and Indians are wavering in their former respect, and 
even in their religious belief. 

Nothing can better show the state of the public mind 
on this score, than the fact, that books against the Catho- 
lic religion are openly printed and read even by the monks. 
Yea, the Citateur of Le Brun, a work ridiculing in the 
most open manner the whole national belief, was transla- 
ted, during the ascendency of the Liberals, and printed at 
the government press. Every body laughed with it, and 
the monks joined in the laugh: therefore, it was evident 
that the government wished to pave thj^ way to a gradual 
religious reform and liberty of conscience. These things 
are sinking deeper and deeper into the hearts of the peo- 
ple, and will prevail. The church property, if taken or 
borrowed by the nation, might lay a foundation for credit 
and prosperity; but if it is wasted by the military, it may 
as well be let alone. 

All the clergy are, like the army, subject to their own 
peculiar tribunals only, and enjoy many other immunities: 
there is then a kind of tacit union of church and state. 
The army and church, although secret foes, find it conve- 



MEXICAN STATES AND TRIBES. 139 

nient to support each other. The first attack has begun 
with the States,- and in all probabihty, — nay proofability, 
will before a great while succeed in toto ccelo. 

STATES AND TRIBES. 

Although those states forming the Federal Union are 
very various in climate, soil, productions, population, and 
views, the most populous is the central one of Mexico, 
which has 1,500,000 citizens: it was only about 1,000,000 
in 1828, The capital is Tezcuco, the city of Mexico it- 
self being the federal city only. The smallest state and 
least populous is Tabasco, having only 60,000: it may be 
compared to Rhode Island in the United States. The 
state of Durango is the only one which has a population 
nearly all white, of 200,000. - 

The different Indian nations are scattered in all the 
other states: they only differ in speech, and are mostly 
cultivators, one-tenth part only being miners, mechanics, 
fishermen, shepherds, and soldiers. The Aztecas are the 
most numerous; next the bi-ave Tarascas of Michoacan, 
who began the revolution; the handsome Miztecas of 
Oaxace, who are called the Circassians of Mexico; be- 
sides the Otomis, Zacatecas, Huastecas, and many more: 
while in the north are the Mayos, who have a population 
of 75,000, Their chief town has 15,000 in it. The 
Opatas have thirteen large towns in Sonora, and form 
two-thirds of the population. The Yaquis made war on 
the Spaniards till 1825, and now their king is become a 
federal chieftain. General Cienfuegos. General Salvador 
was also once king of the Opatas. All these are very 
clever, docile, industrious, and warlike tribes. There are 
also, the Guicholas of Xalisco, the Yumas, the Nabajos, 
the Seres and Apaches of New Mexico and California, 
more or less civilized, commonly dwelling in towns or 
missions; except the wandering Apaches and Comanches, 
formerly formidable robbers, but now mostly conciliated, 
or in some degree friendly. 

Thus the Mexican nation, enjoying a fine climate and 
soil, much wealth, and many elements of prosperity, can- 
not fail to become powerful and respected. 



140 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

HEALTH. 

it is a mistake to suppose the country unhealthy becausig 
there are some narrow strips of land along the shores 
which are subject to local diseases in the summer. These 
low-land strips extend from Tampico to Anahuac in the 
east: but a stranger, by coming there between November 
and April, or by removing at once from thirty to sixty 
piiles inland, if he comes in summer, will be perfectly safe. 

The Vomito j)rieto, of this zone, is a kind of yellow fe- 
ver, modified by the climate, and not much worse than the 
disease of New Orleans. Others say it is a kind of gas- 
tronymic fever, which assails at once the liver, spinal 
marrow, and brain. One of the most simple remedies in 
use, and which is often effectual, consists in speedy and 
repeated doses of a mixture of castor oil, lime juice, and 
sea salt. Nine-tenths of the country, are healthier than 
the most healthy parts of the United States, not being so 
often liable to consumptions, rheumatisms and chronic 
diseases. 

ENCOURAGEMENT TO FOREIGNERS. 

1 proceed to notrce the encouragements given from 
time to time by the Mexican nation to foreigners, in order 
that they m.ight become denizens of their polity; secured 
to them by the unalienable laws of citizenship; offered 
and granted upon such principles as shall be respected and 
protected, throughout all sivay.s, amendments or alterations 
in their governments, while the grantee shall remain 
within the bounds of their constitutional jurisdiction. 

The Spanish government, so long as it maintained its 
sovereignty in America, not only absolutely prohibited the 
settlement of foreigners upon the frontier provinces of its 
possessions, but even discouraged its own subjects from 
occupying the lands which now present such great temp- 
tations to the planters and farmers, mechanics, and manu- 
facturers. 

Mexico, immediately after its dissolution with Spain, 
began to follow the example set by their northern neigh- 
bors, the United States, who, by their policy on public 
lands, had erected in the short space of twenty years, sev.- 



ENCOURAGEMENT TO FOREIGNERS. 141 

eral states and territories, of the most industrious popula- 
tion, out of the region which would still have been called 
the wilderness of Louisiana^ if it had remained under the 
Spanish yoke. 

It was not, however, until the general prevalence of 
those republican principles, which led to the establish- 
ment of the Federal Constitution of Mexico in 1824, that 
the proverbial jealousy of foreigners, for which the Span- 
ish nation has always been celebrated^ gave way to the 
liberal policy of the free governments of modern times; 
which teaches that the freemen of all countries are patriots, 
wherever their destinies fix, or their interest calls them. 
Seeing, therefore, the advantage which the United States 
of the north had derived, both in agriculture and the arts, 
from the admission of the subjects of all the nations of the 
earth among them, and the great accession of national 
strength, which their rapid emigration had made, the na- 
tional Congress of Mexico wisely followed the same course, 
and passed laws for the distribution of its uninhabited 
tracts, among such citizens and foreigners as should choose 
to occupy them. 

By so doing, many advantageous settlements have been 
made in their country; but none have grown with such 
rapidity to strength and consequence, as that part called 
Texas, (formerly a portion of Louisiana's wilderness,) 
which was first made an object of public attention, by the 
discussions relating to the purchase of Florida. It was 
by the treaty of cession of that country, that the bounda- 
ries of Louisiana were fixed: and, by many acquainted with 
its advantages, it was thought that the most healthy and 
fertile tract of land in North America, was sacrificed to 
the acquisition of Florida — the great political object of 
Mr. Monroe's administration- 

In 1819, however, tiie relinquishment of Texas, con- 
sidered at that time as an integral part of Louisiana, was 
comparatively no loss, to those who had already possess- 
ed rnore land than they could settle; and who had then but 
little knowledge of its intrinsic and local advantages, which 
have only been laid open by the Republican Government 
of Mexico, since its emancipation from the enthralling 



142 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

yoke of Spanish despotism. The influence of free consti- 
tutions, and of wise laws, has seldom been more perfectly 
illustrated, than in the sudden development of the re- 
sources and advantages which this fertile country now ex- 
hibits,- not only through the principles of the permanent 
national colonization laws of 1824, but by their having 
been fully met by the Legislature of Coahuila and Texas 
in 1825, in such a manner as was thought would not only 
have the effect of inducing the immediate emigration of 
foreigners into its territories, but of insuring their con- 
tent and prosperity afterwards, through the following en- 
couraging provision. 

" During the Jirst ten years, counting from tlie day on 
ivhick a grant of a new settlement has been made, settlers 
shall not only he free from all taxes and duties upon a?'ticles 
imported for their own use, hut free from all contributions, 
of whatever denomination, with the exception of those luhich, 
in case of invasion hy an enemy, or to prevent it, are gen- 
erally imposed; and all the produce of agriculture or indus- 
try of the settlers shall he free from excise duty, (Alcahala) 
or other duties, throughout every part of the state, (^with the 
exception of the duties for ivorhing the mines.) After the 
termination of that time, the new settlements shall he on the 
same footing as to taxes, with the old ones; and the colonists 
shall also, in thi^. particular, b^ on the sarae standing with 
the other inhabitants of the state, and of the government,'''^ 

COLONIZATION LAWS. 

We shall now look into those particular colonization 
laws, which have been passed from time to time, for the 
benefit of the emigrant ; after which, we shall conclude our 
treatise on the government, by referring to the Constitution 
of the Mexican United States, and the Constitution of Coa^ 
huila and Texas : reserving the balance of those needful 
observations which may bo omitted, to our essay on the 
Americans settled in the province of Texas, as the adopt- 
ed citizens of the Mexican confederation. 

Protection hy Government. Art. 1. The government of 
the Mexican nation v/ill protect the liberty, property, and 
civil rights of all foreigners, who profess the Roman Cath- 



MEXICAN COLONIZATION LAWS. 145 

oHc religion — the established religion of the empire.—- 
Law of the 4th January, 1823. Art. 1 and 2, of the law 
of the 4th August, 1824, scnne. Art. 1, of the Colonization 
law of Coahuila and Texas, 24th March, 1825, same. 

Art. 1 and 2, of Instructions to Commissioners, of 4th 
September, 1827, requires of foreigners, certificates of 
their religious character, &c. from the local authority, 
without which they cannot be admitted; and the Empre- 
sario must give his opinion of the sufficiency of said certifi- 
cates, their genuineness, &lq,. &c. 

Distribution of Lands. Art. 2. The Executive will dis- 
tribute lands to settlers, under the terms and conditions 
herein expressed. — Laws of Mexico, 4th January, 1823.- 
See also. Law of the 18th August, 1824, same. 

Art. 4, of the laws of Coahuila and Texas, passed 24th 
March, 1825, provides, that after a foreigner has made a 
declaration of his wish^to become a settler in due form, as 
directed in section 3, and taken an oath to support the 
Constitution of the General and State Governments, &c. 
he is at liberty to designate any vacant land; and the Po- 
litical Authority will grant it to him, in the same manner 
as a native of the country, to be approved by the Govern- 
ment. 

Quantity of Land, i^^c. Art. 16. Families or unmarried 

men, who entirely of their own accord have emigrated, 

and may wish to umte themselves to any new towns, can 

[ at all times do so, and shall receive, provided that their sole 

' occupation is cultiva;tion of land, one labor. Should they 

I also be stock raisers, grazing land shall be added to com- 

I plete a sitio. And, should their only occupation be raising 

I of stock, they shall receive a superficies of land, equal to 

I twenty-four million square bars. By Art. 15, of same act, 

j unmanned men shall receive the same quantity, when they 

enter the matrimonial state; and foreigners who marry 

J native Mexicans, shall receive one-fourth more. Those 

who are entirely single, can receive only one-fourth as 

much, until they marry. The government can augment 

the quantity of land, in proportion to family, industry, and 

activity of the colonists. And, by Art. 18, families who 

emigrate in conformity to the 16th Art. shall immediately 



144 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

present themselves to the Political Autliority of the place, 
which they have chosen for their residence, who, finding 
the legal requisites, shall admit them, and put them in 
possession of the corresponding lands; and, by means of 
themselves or a commissioner, will issue them a title. — 
Art. 3, 16, and 18, of the Law of Coahuila and Texas, of 
the act of the 24th March, 1825, the same. Also, Art. 4, 
of the Law of Mexico of the 4th January, 1823, same. 

Mechanics are entitled to town lots gratis, by Art. 15, 
of the law 27th September, 1827. 

Sale hy Goviernment. By Art. 24, of the Law of Coa- 
huila and Texas, passed 24th March, 1825, Government 
will sell to Mexicans, and to them only, such lands as they 
may wish to purchase, not more than eleven sitios, and 
under condition that the purchaser cultivate what he ac- 
quires by this title, within six years from its acquisition, 
under the penalty of losing them. The price of each sitio, 
subject to the foregoing condition, shall be one hundred 
dollars, if it be pasture land; one hundred and fifty dollars, 
if it be farming land, without the facility of irrigation ; and 
two hundred and fifty dollars, if it can be irrigated. Art. 
36. Building lots in new towns shall be gi^en gratis to the 
contractors of them, and also to artists of every class, as 
many as are necessary for the establishment of their tro.de. 
And to other settlers, they shall be sold at public auction, 
to be paid for in six, twelve, and eighteen months : but all 
owners of lots shall annually pay one dollar for each lot, 
which, together with the produce of the sales, is to be ap- 
plied to building churches in said town, &c. — And by the 
instruction to the commissioners of the 4th of September, 
1827. 

Section 15. An artist is to receive in a new town, one 
lot, subject to draft, and the Empresario two, without draft. 
Should there be a number of a,pplicants for the same lot, it 
shall be decided by draft. 

Colonization Laws. Art. 8, of the act of the Mexican 
Congress of the 18th of August, 1824, declares that the 
Legislatures of all the States, will, as soon as possible, 
form Colonization Laws, or regulations for their respective 
States, conforming themselves, in all things, to the con- 



MEXICAN COLONIZATION LAWS. U^ 

stitutional act, genenl constitution and regulations, estab- 
lished by law. 

Section 18. The Mexican Congress decree, that the 
government shall form a sj^stem for the regulation of the 
new Colonies, and shall, within one year, lay before Con- 
gress an account of the colonists established under this 
law. The Congress of Coahuila and Texas, formed their 
Colonization Laws, 24th March, 1825. 

Empresarios and Contractors, Art. 3, of the Mexican 
Congress, of the 4th of January, 1823, provides, that Em- 
presarios who shall introduce at least two hundred families,- 
shall previously contract w^th the Executive, inform him 
of their resources, and business to be pursued, to enable 
the Executive to designate the province, the different na- 
tions of which its inhabitants shall be composed, ^c. ^c. 

Art. 19. To each Empresario, who introduces and es- 
tablishes two hundred families, shall be granted at the rate 
of three haciendas, and two labors^ (equal to about 66,775 
acres,) but he will lose the right of property over said 
land, unless populated and cultivated in twelve years from 
the date of concession. The premium cannot exceed 
nine haciendas and six labors, whatever may be the num- 
ber offamilies he introduces, (equal to 200,324 acres.) 
By Art. 20, the proprietors of said lands at the end of 
twenty years must alienate two-thirds of the same by sale^ 
or in any other manner they please. And by Art. 21, the 
provisions contained in Arts. 19 and 20, are understood as 
governing contracts made in six months from the 4th Jan- 
i uary, 1823. After that time the Executive can diminish 
I the premiujUj as he may deem proper. 
I Art. 8, of the Law of Coahuila and Texas, passed 24th 
. March, 1825, provides, that in projects for new settlements, 
1 in which one or more persons offer to bring at their own 
1 expense, one hundred or more families, they shall be pre- 
sented to the gavernment: and if found conformable to this 
law, they shall be admitted ; and the government will im- 
mediately designate to the contractors, the land where they 
are to establish themselves; and the term, of six 3earSy 
within which they must present the number of families 
j they contracted for, under the penalty of losing the right? 

N 



146 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and privileges ofiered in their fiivor, in proporlion to the 
number of families, which they fail to introduce : and the 
contract totally annulled, if they do not bring at least one 
hundred families : those settlers introduced, holding their 
own rights and privileges notwithstanding. By Art. 12, 
of the same law, the contractor or contractors, for the es- 
tablishment of a nev/ settlemiCnt, are entitled to five sitios 
of grazing land, and five labors (equal to 23,025 acres,) at 
least for each hundred families, which he or they may in- 
troduce j the one half of which shall be without the facility 
of irrigation : and they can only receive this premium for 
eight hundred families, (equal to 184,200 acres.) 

Fantilics and Individuals favored. By a provision of 
law annexed to all grants given, those who bear their own 
expenses to the country, shall have one labor extra, of 
such as are brought by empresarics or contractors. And, 

Empresarics or contractors arc forbid introducing, or 
permitting to remain, people of loose haijits, or those guilty 
of crimes; or penxiitting persons to trade with hostile In- 
dians, in arms or ammunition, or to trespass on the rights 
and acknowledged privileges of such Indians as are peace- 
fully disposed. 

State rights. The state retains the right of property 
over all vacant lands, after laying off to the empresarics 
or contractors, and the families or individuals settled, or to 
be settled, according to law, for the purpose of rewarding 
the military, selling to Mexicans, and settling others, ac- 
cording to the laws. 

Mexican Measure of Land. Art. 5, of the Law of Mex- 
ico by its Congress, on the 4th of January, 1S23, estab- 
lishes the measure of land as follovvT. The vara at three 
geometrical feet — equal to Sol inches. A straight line 
of five thousand varas, sliall be a league, (square varas, 
equal to 4,629 yards, I foot, 1G|. inches, or 2yy-?^, or 2 
miles, 201 "rods, 12 ^ee\, 4 inches.) A square, each of 
w^hose sides shall be one league, shall be called a sitio, 
(twenty-five million square varas is a sitio, equal to 
4,428-j-lJ^ acres.) Five sitios shall compose one hacienda 
-^ equal ,to 22,140^^^^ acres. 

Aii:. 7. A labor iz cne million cquare t'ara-s cr one 



MEXICAN COLONIZATION LAWS. M7 

thousand varas on each side. See, also, Art. 11, cf the 
act of the Congress of Coahuila and Texas, passed 24lh 
March, 1825, same. 

Establishments under Former Governments. By Art. 10, 
of the Law of the*Mexican Congress of the 4th of January, 
1828, establishments made under the former governments, 
which are now pending, shall be regulated by this law, 
in all matters that may occur; but those that are finished, 
shall remain in that state. And by 

Art. 31, of the same law, all foreigners who mn.j have 
established themselves in any of the provinces of the em- 
pire, under the permission of the former government, will 
remain on the lands which they may have occupied, being 
governed b)" the tenor of this law, in the distribution of 
eaid lands. 

Government ivill cause lands to be Alienated. By Art. 
11, of the law of the 4th of January, 1823, of the Mexican 
Republic, government will adopt measures for dividing out- 
the lands, which have accumulated in large portions, in the 
hands of individuals or corporations, and Vviiich are not 
cultivated, indemnifying the proprietors for the just price of 
such lands, to be affixed by appraisers. And by Art. 20, 
of the same law, proprietors who have acquired their lands 
as u, premium for the introduction -of settlers, must alienate 
two-thirds of their land by sale or otherwise, as they 
please, at the end of twenty years from the concession 
Vid. title Empresarios and Contractors. 

Provisions. In all grants there is a provision made, 
that as soon as there is a sufficient number of men, the 
National Militia shall be organized, and regulated by law : 
and that all official communications shall b^ made in the 
Spanish language, when corresponding v.'ith the govern- 
ment. 

Villages, Towns, and Cities. Art. 12, of the law of the 
4th of January, 1823. The union of many families at one 
place, shall be called a village, town, or city, agreeably 
to the number of its inhabitants, its extension, locality, 
&c., and the same regulations for its government and 
Police shall be observed, as in others of the same class in 
the empire. By 



H8 HISTOR\r OF TEXAS. 

Art. 34, of the Laws of Coahuila and Texas, of the24tli 
March, 1825, towns shall be founded on the sites deemed 
most suitable by the government, or the person commis- 
sioned for that effect, and for each one there shall be 
designated four square leagues, whose area may be in a 
regular or an irregular form, agreeably to the situation. 
And by 

Art. 35. If any of the said sites should be the property 
of an individual, and the establishment of new towns on 
them should notoriously be of general utility, they can, not- 
withstanding, be appropriated to this object, previously in- 
demnifying the owner for its just value, to be determined 
by appraisers. In Coahuila and Texas, by a law of the 
4th of September, 1827, appointing a Commissioner, it be- 
comes his duty to select all sites for towns in the aforesaid 
states. 

Streets. By Art. 13, of the Law of the Mexican Re- 
public of the 23d January, 1823, streets are to be laid 
straight, running east and west, north and south; and by 
Art. 14, the streets must be twenty varas wide. See, 
also. Art. 37 and 38, of Colonization Law of Coahuila and 
Texas, of the 24th March, 1825, to the same effect. 

Public Squares. By Art. 12, of instruction to the Com- 
missioners by act of the Legislature of Coahuila and Tex- 
as, of the 4th of September, 1827, in all new towns, there 
shall be designated a public square, which shall be one 
hundred and twenty varas on each side, exclusive of streets, 
which shall be called principal or constitutional square, 
and this shall be the central point from which the streets 
shall run for the formation of squares and blocks. 

Art. 13. The block situated on the east side of the 
principal square, shall be destined for the church, curate's 
house, and other ecclesiastical buildings : the block on the 
west side of said square, for public buildings of the muni- 
cipality. In some other suitable situation a block shall 
be designated for a market square; another for a jail and 
house of correction; and another for a school, and other 
edifices for public instruction : with another beyond the 
limits of the town for a burial ground. 

Provinces. By Art. 14, of the Law of the Mexican 



MEXICAN COLONIZATION LAWS. 149 

Republic, of the 4th January, 1823, provinces shall be 
formed, whose superficies shall be six thousand square 
leagues. Government will colonize agreeably to the €ict 
of the 18th August, 1824. 

When Towns are formed, lioio regulated, &c. By Art. 
15, of the Law of the Republic of Mexico of the 4th Jan- 
uary, 1823, as soon as a sufficient number of families may 
be united to form one or more towns, the local government 
shall be regulated, and the constitutional Ayuntamientos, 
and other local establishments, formed in conformity with 
the laws. Art. 40, of the Law of Coahuila and Te.':'*^; 
passed 24tli March, 1625. As soon as forty families are 
united in one place, they shall proceed to the formal es- 
tablishmont of the new towns, and all of them shall take 
an oath to support the general and state constitutions, 
which oath shall be administered by the Commissioner: 
they shall th^, in his presence, proceed to the election of 
their municipal authority. 

When to elect an Ayuntamiento. By Art. 41, of the 
Law of Coahuila and Texas, of the 24th March, 1825, a 
new town, whose inhabitants shall not be less than t-.vo 
hundred, shall elect an Ayuntamiento, provided there is 
not another one established within eight leagues, in which 
case, it shall be added to it. By Art. 42, foreigners are 
eligible, subject to the provisions which the constitution of 
the state prescribes, to elect the members of their munici- 
pal authorities, and to be elected to the same. 

Municipal o^ces, how filed, &c. By a law .promulga- 
ted in March, 1834, from the Constitutional Congress of 
Coahuila and Texas, for the better regulating of municipal 
authority, it is decreed as follows: 

Art. 1. Those Ayuntamientos of the towns that of 
themselves, or with a population that does not exceed uve 
thousand souls, shall consist of one Alcalde, who shall be 
President, two Corregidors and one Procurador. Those 
towns that possess the aforesaid number, let the popula- 
tion be what it may, shall have two Corregidors more, ob- 
• serving for their election and renewal the provisions of 
the constitution, and the regulations for the economical 
political government of the towns. 

n2 



150 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Art. 2. In those towns where, agreeably to the consti- 
tution and laws, there is an Ayuntamicnto established, 
although the number of inhabitants does not extend to 
a thousand souls, and in those towns that have from that 
number up to five thousand souls, there shall be 5 Judge 
of the first instance; and in those towns that have a popu- 
lation of from five thousand to ten thousand souls, there 
shall be two Judges appointed: and in the other towns, 
let the population extend to what it may over and above 
the ten thousand, there shall be three Judges. 

Art. 3. The obligations of these Judges of the first in- 
stance, shall be the same required by the law regulating 
justices, and the otherJaws that are in concordance with it, 
which were committed to the Alcaldes: the same for the 
verbal demands, as for written obligations or business. 
And they will receive in civil cases alone t]\p fees that are 
established by law. Art. 4. These officers will use for 
distinction of their office, a cane with a black cord or rib- 
and with black knots ; and when they visit acts of solemn- 
ity, they will join with the Ayuntamientos, after the Al- 
jcaldes — observing for their nomination the provision of 
the following articles. 

Art. 5. The second Sunday in October, the Ayuntami- 
entos being met, they shall proceed to form a list of four 
individuals for each Justice's court, that may be establish- 
ed in their towns, agreeable to the regulations in the sec- 
ond article of this law, which shall be by mail remitted 
immediately to the Political chief of the department. 

Art. 6. The Political chief of the department can change 
the order of the individuals contained in the list, and it 
will be understood that the first person named by the Po- 
litical chief, out of those on the list, is for the time being 
primary Judge. 

Art. 7. The Chief of department will send to the re- 
spective Ayuntamientos the list that they may have form- 
ed, authorised under their signature, and a copy of which 
will immediately be set up on the door of the office of the 
Ayuntamicnto, which will be officially signed by the Al- 
calde ; and the original signed by the Corregidors, will re- 
/nain in the Archives of the Ayuntamicnto, 



MEXICAN COLONIZATION LAWS 151 

Art. 8. The President of the Ayuntamiento will official- 
ly communicate the appointment, to the individuals ap- 
pointed, for the purpose that they present themselves, on 
the first day of January, of the ensuing year, to take pos- 
session of their destine, and take the necessary oaths re- 
quired, agreeable to the article 220 of the Constitution, 
which cannot be dispensed with. 

Art. 9. Those appointed will be renewed each year; 
and those of one year are eligible for the next year, but 
cannot be compelled to serve without having two years 
respite, as in that and the other offices of responsibility. 

Art. 10. In case of the death of any of those judges or 
a legal embarrassment, or from any other cause the office 
becoming vacant, the next on the list out of the first three 
appointed, shall officiate, and'fill the places agreeable to 
the notice given by the President of the Ayuntamiento. 

Art. 11. Those Judges cannot separate themselves from 
their obligations, on account of particular business, in the 
discharge of their duties; nor for the same reason, can 
they leave the town in which they reside, without leave 
from the Chief of department; who can grant leave of ab- 
sence, agreeable to the term of time asked for by the in- 
terested person, provided it does not exceed three months 
in the term of one year. 

The political chiefs, are first one for the department of 
Bexar, and one for the department of Brazos, with one for 
the department of Nacogdoches. They are nominated by 
the respective Ayuntamientos of the departments, and the 
list sent to the assembled Congress of the state; and if 
agreed upon, the appointments are confirmed by the Gov- 
ernor's signature. The salary of the Chiefs respectively, 
is eight hundred dollars annually. Each department sends 
delegates, or representatives to Congress, according to 
their population ; elected as the members of the Ayunta- 
miento by the people once a year. 

Preference to Colonists who first arrive. By Art. 17, 
of the Law of the 4th January, 1823, of the Mexican Re- 
public, as a general rule, colonists who arrive first shall 
have the preference; but by Art. 18, of the same act, Mex- 
icans shall have the preference to the distribution of land, 



152 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and particularly the military of the three guarantees, in con- 
furmity with the decree of the 27th March, 1821 — and also 
those who served in the first epoch of the insurrection. By 

Art. 9, of the act of the Mexican Congress of the 18th 
August, 1821, Mexican citizens have a preference in the 
distribution of land; but no distinction shall be made among 
them, except that which is founded on individual merit, 
or services rendered the country; or under equal circum- 
stances, a residence in the place, where the lands to be 
distributed are situated. 

Military. By Art. 10, of the Mexican Congress of the 
18th August, 1824, the military, who in virtue of the offer 
made on the 27th March, 1821, have a right to lands, 
shall be attended to by the states, in conformity with the 
diplomas which are issued to that effect by the supreme 
executive power. And 

Art. 10, of the Law of Coahuila and Texas, gives pre- 
ference to Military and Mexicans. 

Date of concession determines the right to Property. 
By Art. 22, of the Law of the 4th January, 1823, of the 
Mexican Congress, the date of the concession furnishes 
and constitutes an inviolable law for the right of property, 
and the legal ownership. Should any one through error, 
or by subsequent concession, occupy land belonging to an- 
other, he shall have no right to it, further than a preference 
in case of sale, at the current price. But by Art. 21, of 
the Law of Coahuila and Texas, of the 24th March, 1825, 
if by error of concession, any land shall be granted, be- 
longing to another, on proof being made of that fact, an 
equal quantity shall be ^ granted elsewhere, to the person 
who may thus have obtained it through error; and he shall 
be indemnified by the ov^^ner of such land, for any improve- 
ments he may have made: the jast value of such improve- 
ments to be ascertained by appraisers. 

Cultivation. By Art. 23, of the law of the Mexican 
Republic of the 4th January, 1823, if after two years from 
the date of concession, the colonist should not have culti- 
vated his lands, the right of property shall be considered 
as renounced: in which case the respective Ayuntamiento 
can gra»3t it to another. 



MEXICAN COLONIZATION LAWS. 163 

By Art. 24, of the Law of Coahuila and Texas, of the 
24th March, 1825, lands sold to Mexicans must be culti- 
vated in six years under the penalty of losing them. And 
by Art. 26, of the same act, the new settlers, who, within 
six j^ears from the date of the concession, have not culti- 
vated or occupied the lands granted them, according to their 
quality, shall be considered to have renounced them; and 
the respective political authorities shall proceed to take 
possession of them, and recall the titles. Same manner, 
for nonpayment of the instalments; or being at any one 
time, nine months absent from the government, during the 
six first years from date of concession. 

Citizenship and Naturalization. By Art. 27, of the 
Law of the Mexican Republic, of the 4th January, 1823, 
all foreigners, who come to establish themselves within 
the empire, shall be considered as naturalized, should they 
exercise any useful profession or industry, by which at the 
end of three years, they have a capital to support them- 
selves with decency^ and are marned. Those with the 
foregoing qualifications, marrying Mexicans, will acquire 
particular merit for the obtaining letters of citizenship. 

Art. 28. Congress will grant letters of citizenship to 
those who may solicit them in conformity with the Consti- 
tion of the empire. 

Art. 31. Foreigners who established themselves under 
a former government, are entitled to the same privilege, 
and will remain on their lands ; being governed by the ten- 
ox of this law in the distribution of lands. And by 

Art. 21, of the law of Coahuila and Texas, having ob- 
tained land and established themselves, they are from that 
moment, considered in the country as eligible to vote and 
fill offices. 

Contracts with settlers guaranteed. By Art. 14, of the 
Law of the Republic of Mexico, of the 18th August, 1824, 
contracts which the Empresarios make with the families 
which they bring at their own expense, this law guar- 
antees. And Art. 9, of the Law of Coahuila and Texas, 
of the 24th March, 1825, guarantees all contracts made 
by contractors, undertakers, or empresarios, with fam- 
ilies, or settlers, brought at their own expense or 



154 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

otherwise, so far as they are conformable with its provi- 
sions. 

Alienation of Lands. By Art. 20, of the Law of the 
4th January, 1823, of the Mexican Republic, every indi- 
vidual shall be free to leave the empire, and can alienate 
the lands over which he may have acquired the right of 
property, agreeably to the tenor of the law of the 4th Jan- 
uary, 1823; and he can likewise take away from the coun- 
try all his property by paying the duties established by law. 

By Art. 27, of the Law of Coahuila and Texas, passed 
24th March, 1825, the contractors and military, heretofore 
spoken of, and those v/ho by purchase have acquired lands, 
can alienate them at any time ; but the successor is obliged 
to cultivate them, in the same time that the original pro- 
prietor was bound to do. And the other settlers can 
alienate theirs when they have totally cultivated them, but 
not before. By 

Art. 28, of the same law, by testamentary will, in con 
formity with the existing laws, or those which may govern 
in future, any new colonist, from the day of his settlement, 
may dispose of his land, although he may not have culti- 
vated it, and if he dies intestate, his property shall be in- 
herited by the person or- persons entitled by the laws to it; 
the heirs being subject to the same obligations and condi- 
tions imposed on the original grantee. And by 

Art. 30, of the same law, the new settler who, wishing 
to establish himself in a foreign country, resolves to leave 
the territory of the state, can do so freely, with all Ids pro- 
perty; but after leaving the state, he shall not any longer 
hold his land: and if he had not previously sold it, or the 
sale should not be in conformity with the 27th Article, it 
shall become entirely vacant. 

Lands shall not pass into Mortmain. By Art. 29, of the 
act of Coahuila and Texas, of the 24th March, 1824, lands 
acquired by virtue of this law, shall not by any title what- 
ever, pass into mortmain. And by Art. 13, of the act of 
the Mexican Republic, of the 18th August, 1824, the new 
colonists shall not transfer their property in mortmain. 

Articles not Dutiable. By Art. 26, of the Mexican Re- 
public of the 4th January, 1824, all the instruments of 



MEXICAN COLONIZATION LAWS. 155 

husbandry, machinery, and other utensils that are intro- 
duced by the colonists for their use, at the time of their 
coming to the empire, shall he free, as also the merchan- 
dize introduced by each family, to the am.ount of 2,000 
dollars. And by 

Art. 12, of the Law of the Mexican Republic, of the 
6th April, 1830, for and during the term of six years, the 
coasting trade shall be free to foreign vessels for trans- 
portation of produce of the colonists, to the ports of Mata- 
raorcg, Tampico, and Vera Cruz. By the same act, Art. 
13, for and during the term of four years the introduction 
enframe houses, lumber, &.c., and of every kind of provi- 
sions, shall be admitted into the ports of Galveston and 
Matagorda, free of duty. 

No Slavery. By Art. 30, of the Law of the Mexican 
Government, of the 4th January, 1623, after the publica 
tion of said law, there can be no sale or purchase of slaves, 
which may be introduced into the empire ; and the children 
of slaves, born in the Republic, shall he free at the age of 
fourteen years. 

By the Laws of Coahuila and Texas, passed 24th March, 
1824, Art. 46, new settlers, as regards the introduction of 
slaves, shall subject themselves to the existing laws, and 
those vrhich may hereafter be established ; at the risk of all 
rights and privileges, which they may possess, as citizens, 
under that constitution, and those laws, v.hich govern the 
Mexican Republic. 

And by a Law of the Congress of Coahuila and Texas, 
passed 23d March, 1831, there shall be formed in each 
town a Register of the slaves, with a statement of their 
ages, names, and sexes. 

Art. 2. A Register shall be kept of the birth of children 
of slave parents, since the publication of the constitution, 
giving an account thereof to the government every three 
months ; and in like manner an account of the death of 
slaves. 

Art. 4. Importers of slaves, after the time mentioned iu 
the 13th Article of the constitution — which see (11th Sep- 
tember, 1827,) will be subject to the penalties established 
by the General Law of the 13th July, 1824. 



mimimsin> 



156 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Art. 5. Slaves are free at the death of their owner, who 
has no Imeal heirs, (except owners are poisoned or assas- 
sinated by one of the slaves.) And in case of descent 
by lineal heirs, one-tenth are free — to be determined by lot. 

By Art. 9, the free children of slaves shall receive a 
good education, and be bound out to trades by the Ayun- 
tamiento. And by Art. 10, a fine of 500 dollars is imposed 
on the Ayuntamiento, who neglects to see the law en- 
forced. 

By Art. 10, of the General Law of the Mexican Re- 
public, of the 6th April, 1830, no change can be made with 
respect to the colonies already established, nor slaves they 
already contain; but the prevention of the further admis- 
sion of slaves shall be exacted under the strictest responsi' 
bilities. These responsibilities shall be acted upon by the 
government authorities, whenever it can be proved, that 
the bondsman has been involuntarily inveigled into servi- 
tude. And if he was formerly a slave, his present master 
must be able to produce written testimony, from under the 
hands of an authorized notary public, that his servant had 
been duly manumitted ; and that, before he entered into 
his indentureship — if he could neither read nor write — 
the case had been clearly, audibly, and three times delib- 
erately explained to him, before two disinterested wit- 
nesses, whose names are placed on the covenantal docu- 
ment, along ^^ith the voluntary mark made by B.free man, 
and not by a slave ! 

Settlers not to hold more than eleven leagues. By Art. 
12, of the Law of the Mexican Republic, of the 18th Au- 
gust, 1824, it shall not be permitted to unite in the same 
hands, with the right of property, more than one league 
square of land suitable for irrigation ; four square leagues 
in superficies of arable land, without the facilities of irri- 
gation; and six square leagues in superficies of grazing 
land. 

Indians. By Art. 19, of the Law of Coahuila and Tex- 
as, of the 24th March, 1825, Indians of all nations, border- 
ing on the state, as well as wandering tribes within its 
limits, shall be received in the market, without paying any 
duties on the products of the country. And if they de- 



MEXICAN COLONIZATION LAWS. 157 

clare in favor of our religion and institutions, they shall 
be entitled to the same quantity of land, as spoken of in 
the 14th and 15th Articles — <ih\ diys preferring native In- 
dians to strangers. 

Titles to Land — How obtained. By Art. 4, of In- 
structions to Commissioners appointed by the state, and 
first dated 4th September, 1827, the said Commissioners 
shall issue, in the name of the state, the titles for lands in 
conformity with the law, and put the new colonists in pos- 
session of their lands with all legal formalities, and the pre- 
vious citation of adjoining proprietors, should there be any. 

Likewise, sales of land, to be good in law to the pur 
chaser, should have.annexed thereunto the signatures of 
the adjoining landholders, that they are fully satisfied he 
should be their neighbor: but if any should object to the 
intended purchaser, he or they must advance to the pre- 
sent holder the amount offered for such land; which he 
shall be obliged to except. 

Furthermore, no man can dispose of his family's portion 
of these lands given by government to them, except by 
their consent, after the era of their emancipation; the wife 
and children being considered three-fourths proprietor, of 
that league of land given by government to the family 
settlers, represented by a male head. 

Records of Land. By Art. 8, of Instructions to Com- 
missioners, each Commissioner shall form a manuscript 
book of paper of the 3d stampt, in which shall be written 
the titles of lands distributed to the colonists; specifying 
the names, the boundaries, and other requisites and legal 
circumstances ; and a certified copy of each title shall be 
taken from said book of the 2d stampt, which shall be de- 
livered to the interested person, as his title ; the settler to 
pay the value of the stampt paper, both for the original 
and copy. And by 

Art. 10, of the said instructions — This book shall be 
preserved in the archives of the new colony, and an exact 
form of it shall be transmitted to the government, with 
every legal requisite. And all public instruments, titles, 
or other documents issued by the Commissioners, shall be 
attested by two assistant witnesses. 

O 



158 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Surveyors of public Lands. By Art. 7, of instructions 
to Commissioners, of the 4"lh September, 1827, the Com- 
missioner shall appoint, under his own responsibility, the 
surveyor, who. must survey the land scientifically, under 
oath, &c. 

Art. 6. The Commissioner shall take care that no va- 
cant lands be left between possessions except in such bodies 
as can be occupied by other settlers with the same privi- 
leges : and in order that the lines of each may be clearly 
designated, he shall compel the colonists, within the term 
of one }'ear, to mark their lines, and to establish fixed and 
permanent corners. By _ 

Art. 18, of same instructions, the Commissioner shall 
cause the holders of town lots, to construct houses on said 
lots, within a limited time,, under the penalty of forfeiting 
them. 

Amount to he paid by new Settlers to the State. By 
Art. 22, of the Law of Coahuila and Texas, of the 24th 
March, 1825, as an acknowledgement, the new settler 
shall pay to the state for each sitio of pasture land, thirty 
dollars ; for each labor without the facility of irrigation, 
two dollars and one half; and three dollars and one half for 
each one that can be irrigated : and so on, proportionably, 
according to the quantity and quality of the land disti'ibu- 
ted: to be paid, one-third in four, one-third in five, and 
one-third in six years, under the penalty of losing the 
land on failure of either payment. (Are exempted from 
this payment the Empresarios or contractors, on account 
of their premium, and the Military for lands obtained by 
their diplomas.) The payments above referred to, to be 
made to the Ayuntamiento, &c. And by Art. 25, of same 
la,w, the price cannot be altered by the Legislature — nor 
as regards the quantity and quality, under six years from 
the passage of this law, or the date of the colony. 

Fees of the Commissioner and Surveyor. The Govern- 
or, by Art. 39, of the act of the Legislature of Coahuila 
and Texas, of March, 1825, designates the fees of the 
Commissioner; who, in conjunction with the colonists, shall 
fix the Surveyor's fees — both to be paid by the colonists. 

Lands not Attachable for certain Debts. By the 70tb 



I 



MEXICAN COLONIZATION LAWS. 159 

Decree of the constitutional Congress of the free, indepen- 
dent, and sovereign state of Coahuila and Texas, the fol- 
lowing articles are manifested: 

Art. 1. The lands acquired by virtue of the coloniza- 
tion laws, whether they be general lands of the nation, or 
particular lands of the state, by national or foreign colo- 
nists, or empresarios — shall not be subject to the pay- 
ment of debts contracted previous to the acquisition of said 
lands — be the origin of said debts whatsoever it may, or 
proceed 4\-om whencesoever they may. 

Art. 2. Until twelve years after having obtained a legal 
possession, the colonists and empresarios cannot be de- 
manded, nor incommoded by the judges for said debts. 

Art. 3. After the expiration of the term fixed by the 
preceding article, although they may be demanded for the 
said debts, they are not obliged to pay them with said lands, 
farming utensils, or instruments of their trade, or mer- 
chandize. 

Executive may sell or lease Lands. By Art. 32, of the 
Lav/ of the Mexican Republic, of the 4th January, 1823, 
the Executive, as it may deem necessary, will sell or 
lease the lands, which, on account of their local situation, 
may be the most important, being governed in respect of 
all others, by the provisions of this law. 

Government may use Lands for National Defence. By 
Art. 5, of the Law of the Mexican Republic of the 4th 
January, 1823, should the government deem it necessary 
to use any of the coast or border lands for the construction 
of warehouses, arsenals, or any other public edifice, they 
can do so — with the approbation of the general Congress, 
or in its recess, of the Council of Government. 

And by the Law of the Mexican Congress, of the 18th 
August, 1824, the Executive is empowered to take pos- 
session of (any) lands (in new colonies) that may be suit- 
able for fortifications and arsenals for nev/ colonies, in- 
demnifying the state by a deduction from the debt due by 
such state to the federation. 

Government to appoint Agents to visit new Colonies. By 
Art. 3, of the Laws of Mexico, of the 6th April, 1823, the 
Government shall appoint one or more Commissioners, to 



160 ♦ HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

visit the Colonies of the frontier states,- to contract with 
the Legislatures of those states for the purchase, by the 
nation, of lands for the establishment of new colonists of 
Mexicans and Foreigners; to make arrangements for the 
security of the Republic with the colonists already estab- 
lished; to watch over the exact compliance of the con- 
tracts, on the entrance of new colonies; and to investigate 
how far the contracts already made have been complied 
with. It shall be their duty also, to see that the land 
Commissioners have presided at the first popular election, 
held in those places entitled to an Ayuntamiento, and 
have put the elected in possession of their offices. And 
also see that the 26th article, of these Commissioners' in- 
structions, have been attended to, in warning and appoint- 
ing all public instruments, titles or other documents, mem- 
orials, reports and decrees of the Colonists, or Empresa- 
rios, on any subject whatever, to be written in the Span- 
ish language — whether they are to be transmitted to 
government, or preserved in the archives of the colony. 

For a definition of those powers that be, the reader is 
referred to the annexed General Constitution of the Mex- 
ican Republic, and particular Constitution of the state of 
Coahuila and Texas; the free and independent Congress 
of which state, have from time to time, (particularly in 
those years intervening between 1827 and '34,) passed 
many wise and judicious laws, for the better regulating 
of that justice and equity, due to all its citizens — now in 
full force to their content and prosperity, according to 
the following regulations . 

LAWS OF COAHUILA AND TEXAS- 

Section J. Of the administration of justice by 7neans of admin- 
istrative provisions. 

Art 1. Civil demands, the value of which does not exceed ten dol- 
lars, will be decided by the Alcaldes alone, verbally setting down the 
corresponding reasons, in a book kept for that purpose of common paper. 

Art. 2. When the amount of the demand exceeds ten dollars and 
less than one hundred, each of the interested parties will nominate a 
good-man; and these united with the Alcaldes will determine the de- 
mand by plurality of votes, within seventy-two hours. 

Art. 3. In case that the three were of various opinions, they shall 



LAWS OF COAHUILA AND TEXAS. 161 

adopt for a definitive resolution, the opinion most favorable to the de- 
fendant, between the Alcaldes and gocj-man of the plaintilf. 

Art. 4. The resolutions which are decided shall be set down in a 
book, destined for that purpose, of common paper ; shall be signed by 
the Alcalde, good-man, and the parties, if they are capable, and shall be 
executed without recourse. 

Art. 5. To be a good-man, requires to be a citizen in the exercise of 
rights — and know how to read and write. 

Art. 6. The infractions of laws and regulations of police, which carry 
with thrm pecuniary responsibility or personal, which docs not exceed 
ten dollars, or three days imprisonment, or employment in public works,, 
shall be punished equally without recourse, by verbal determinations of 
the Alcaldes alone : but when the punishment has to exceed the expressed, 
it shall be imposed by the Alcaldes, in unison with two good- men (ar- 
bitrators) nomina cd one by the accused and the other by the accuser, 
if any, if not by the first Syndick-procurador, v. hen there are two, 
or I)y the one, when there is only one; observing in case of various 
opinions the rule adopted by the third article, which shall be executed 
irremissibly : in case the Alcaldes have to proceed, he will nominate the 
good-man on the part of the parties absent. 

Art. 10. With respect to vagi-ants, idlers, and persons without occu- 
pation, the Alcalde will proceed, accompanied with the only Syndick, 
or the first, where there are two, to receive a brief information, and ver- 
bal process of his manner of living. If this should not be honest and 
regular, he shall order them arrested, and hear them verbally. And if 
they should not justify their conduct in concurrence with the Ayunta- 
miento, to whom they shall recur, with the information what is verbally 
said by the parties arrested, they will destine them for six months to 
the house of correction, where there is one, or to an office, or labor of 
fields, under the direction and custody of the masters or mechanics. 
And for a second ofifence they shall be destined to public labors for equal 
time, in accord with the same Aymitamiento. 

SECTio?f II. Of the preparatory measures for demands that 
shoidd be introduced and prosec^ited^n lurking before the Judges of 
the first instance. 

Art. 11. Civil demands, whose value exceeds one hundred dollars, 
must be instituted in writing, but for this it is necessary that the con- 
ciliation precede ; which is necessary likewise in crim.inal demands rela- 
tive to grievous injuries. 

Art. 12. These conciUations shall be had before the Alcaldes, and 
for that purpose, each one of the parties shall nominate his hombre 
bueno or good-man, who shall be united with the respective Alcaldes. 

Art. 13. United, the Alcalde and hombres buenos, and without mix- 
ing in the allegations of the parties, will hear as much as they wish to 
expound in their favor; and then retiring, these shall proceed to resolve 
the matter, by a plurality of votes in a prudent manner, which may 
be agreeable to the parties ; and this shall be taken for a conciliatory de- 
termination : or in case of being a diversity of opinions, that wliich fa- 
vors the defendant or that of the Alcalde and hombre bueno of the 
plaintiff. 

o2 



162 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Art. 14. When the gravity of the matter requires — m the opinion 
of the Alcaldes and hombres buenos — meditation, study, or information 
of parties, they will give their resolution within the precise time of five 
days. 

Art. 15. This shall be kept in a book of extencion to that effect, of 
paper of the sale 4th, with the expression of the parties, conforming or 
not, with the determination ; and shall be signed by the Alcalde, the hom- 
bres buenos and parties — if they know how. 

Art. 16. The resolution and agreement of the parties in the concilia- 
tion, shall be executed without reserve or recourse, by the Alcaldes 
themselves. And if the person against whom it shall proceed, enjoys 
any exempting privilege, his legal judge will execute it in the same 
manner on evidence of the certificate, which shall be presented of the 
conciliation : for which use, and for the other uses which the parties 
may require, shall be given the certificate which they ask. 

Art. 17. When the Alcaldes or the citizens of the pueblo are plain- 
tiffs or defendants, the conciliation shall be had or transacted before 
the first Corregidor. In turn, if the Alcaldes and Ayuntamientos col- 
lectively are parties in a suit, the Alcalde of the preceding year will ex- 
ercise the functions : and if a matter of common interest to the vicinity, 
they shall recur to the adjoining pueblo, or most immediate pueblo, 
where they have not such interest. In the district where there are 
more than one Alcalde, and one should be designated, the conciliation 
shall be conducted before some other one. 

Art. 18. The Alcaldes, and other persons who convene at the con- 
ciliations, shall not exact any fee whatever, but it shall be exacted of 
the parties mutually, if they agree ; or if not, the party who does not 
conform with the determination, shall pay four bits for cost to the sec- 
retary, and also costs of paper. 

Art. 19. In the conciliations, shall be observed likewise, the privilege 
expressed in the 9th article to the person demanding it — may appear 
himself, or by attorney with special power. 

Art. 20. If the person cited does not appear, he shall be cited a sec- 
ond time, at his cost, threatening him with a fine from one to twenty 
dollars, according to the circumstances of the case, and the person : and 
if he still does not obey, nor show legal cause why he docs not, the act 
shall be taken as terminated. The Alcalde shall give the actor a cer- 
tificate of having attempted the conciliation, and not having effected it 
for failure of the defendant. 

Art. 32. de la ley Reglamentaria. — The Judge of the first instance 
will not admit demands, whether civil or criminal, in writing, unless 
they come accompanied with a certificate, that accredits having attempt- 
ed the conciliations, and that the parties did not agree thereunto. — 
Which see Addeiuhnn. 

Section I. Of the extended regulations, in the administration 
of Justice. 

Art. 1. Texas being formed into one Judicial Circuit — it shall be 
denominated. The Superior Judicial Court of Texas. 

Art. 2. All causes civil and criminal shall be tried by jurors, in the 
manner and form prescribed by this law. 



LAWS OF COAHUILA AND TEXAS. 163 

Art. 3. The Circuit shall b» divided into three Districts, which are 
the three departments of Texas. 

Art. 4. The Superior Court shall be composed of one Superior Judge, 
one Secretary, and one Sheriff, for each judicial district ; and in criminal 
cases, the Jury and one Prosecuting Attorney. 

Art. 5. The Court shall hold its sessions, every four months, in the 
capitals of the three districts : commencing in that of Bexar, the first 
Monday of January, April, and Augast ; in that of Brazos, the first 
Monday of February, May, and September; and in that of Nacogdo- 
ches, the first Monday of March, June, and October. 

Art. 6. For the trial of civil causes, there shall be in every municipali- 
ty a tribunal for each Primary Judge, composed of the Judge, a Siib- 
ahern Sheriff*, and the Jury. Their sessions shall be held every two 
months of the year, commencing on the fourth Monday of the month in 
which the session ought to be held. 

Art. 7. In all cases both civil and criminal, the jury shall be com- 
posed of twelve men, who shall be sworn, and the joint opinion of e/§7i? 
of them shall be considered the decision of the jury. 

Art. 8. In every Commissary's district there shall be one Constable, 
to execute the orders of the Commissary, and discharge such further 
duties as this law may designate. 

Art. 9. To be Constable, it is necessary that the individual possess 
the same qualifications as are required of the Commissary ; and he shall 
be elected at the same time, and under the same regulations that are 
prescribed for the election of the latter. 

Art. 10. The same number of Subaltern Sheriffs shall be elected, 
and at the same time, and in the same manner as the Alcaldes : the 
District Sheriffs shall also be appointed in the same manner and form. 

Art. 11. One of the lists which according to the 100th article of the 
decree No. 37, of the 13th of June, 1827, are directed to be formed in 
every municipality for the election of District Sheriff, shall be remitted 
to the Superior Judge ; who, on examination of all the lists remitted, 
shall compute the votes and declare who has -been elected, giving offi- 
cial notice thereof to the individuals so elected. 

Art. 12. The Prosecuting iVttorneys, Secretaries, and District Sher- 
iffs, shall be appointed by the Superior Judge, from among the most 
proper persons (of the jurisdiction ;) and before him they shall take the 
oath prescribed by the 220th article of the Constitution. 

Art. 13. For the formation of the Jury hi civil cases, the Commis- 
sioners, at the commencement of every year, shall remit to the respec- 
tive Ayuntamientos, a list containing the names of all the citizens of his 
jurisdiction, qualified to serve as jurors; and the Ayuntamientos shall 
have a separate box for each Comisaria in which shall be kept the 
names of the jurors, each written on a separate slip of paper. 

Art. 14. One month before the opening of the sessions of the Court, 
the Ayuntamientos shall meet : and in their presence the Secretaiy shall 
draw out of each box one name, until he get thirty-six names, which 
shall then be put together into another and separate box, and a list of 
them shall be given to the Sheriff, in order that he may cite them in 
due time. 



164 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Art. 15. For the formation of the jury in criminal cases, the Ayunta* 
mientos shall remit, every year, to the Ayuntaniientos of the capital of 
the district, a list of the names of all the citizens of their respective 
municipalities, having the necessary quahlications for jury-men ; which 
names, separately written on slips of paper, shall be put into a box, and 
the Secretary, in the presence of the Ayuntamientos, shall draw out a 
number of names, which nmltiplied by the number of the municipaUties 
which compose the district, shall produce a result not less than thirty- 
six ; and shall deliver a list of them to the subaltern Sheriffs, in order 
that they may summon them to appear at the capital of the district, on 
the day of the opening of the sessions of the Superior Court: and two 
months previous thereunto, he shall transmit another list to the Secre- 
tary of the district, who shall put together in one box the names thus 
transmitted, and keep them in this manner, till the day uf the approach- 
ing sessions. 

Art. 16 and 17. Prsecognito lit supra. 

Art. 18. In case the Judge appointed may not be acquainted with 
both the legal idioms of Texas, he shall appoint an interpreter, whose 
salary shall he one thousand dollars per annum. 
"Skctiox II. Prel.minary Provisions. 

Art. 19. The Primary Judges in the municipal capitals, and the 
Commissaries in their respective jurisdictions, are judges of inquiry and 
police, for the prompt investigation of crimes and the apprehension of 
delinquents ; and in so doing tliey may proceed by virtue of their office, 
without waiting for orders or instructions from any superior. 

Art. 20. The Sheriffs and Constables are Executive officers, to aid 
and assist the Judges, and are required to comply strictly with their or- 
ders, when not manifestly contrary to some express law ; and, in the 
absence of the proper officers, the Judge may appoint a substitute 
pro tern. 

Art. 21. The executive officers, in case of necessity, may demand of 
the respective Commandants the assistance of the civil militia, to carry 
into execution the orders which they may have received from the com- 
pjetcnt authority ; and every citizen is under obligation to assist them in 
the fulfilment of this duty. 

Art. 22. During the time of the sessions of the Court, there shall, be 
appointed by lot, six Constables, who shall assist tlie Sheriff'of the dis- 
trict ; and three others for the subaltern Sheriff'. 

Art. 33. For this purpose, tiie names of all the Constables of the- re- 
spective jurisdictions shall be put together, and the SecretM'ies of dis- 
tricts, or the Primary Judges, as the case may be, shall draw out the 
nine provided for in the preceding article, and shall communicate the 
result to the individuals who may in this manner have been appointed. 

Art. 24. The juries are judges of all the facts in controversy, and of 
the laws concerning evidence, subject to the instruction of the Judge : . 
but they have the right to differ from him in opinion. But in regard to all 
other law they shall be regulated strictly accoi'ding to their literal tenor. 

Art. 2.5. The facts established by the decision of the jury, shall be 
considered as conclusive, and cannot be controverted before any tribu- 
nal or authoTity, evcrpt in the single case of ccnruption of thejiiry. 



LAWS OF COAHUILA AND TEXAS. 165 

Art. 26. In all cases criminal, at the time of forming the jury, the 
accused shall have the right to object peremptorily, and without assign- 
ing his reasons, to twenty of the individuals named as jurors. 

Art. 37. Any person interested in the case may object to jurors, on 
account of the following disabilities : for not being a citizen in the ex- 
ercise of his rights , for being under twenty years of age, if mamed, or 
under twenty-five if a single man ; for having committed some crime of 
treachery or falsehood, or any other whatever meriting corporeal pun- 
ishment ; for want of impartiality on account of being a relative of one 
of the parties, within the fifth degree inclusive ; for having acted in the 
case on a former occasion, as judge, juror, arbiter or arbitrator ; for hav- 
ing some private interest in the case ; for having been suborned, or hav- 
ing received pay for administering justice : for having been counsel, at- 
torney, or agent, for one of the parties in the case pending ; or for being 
actually his servant or master. These disabilities are absolute, and the 
Judge shall determine them by one witness, or such other testimony as 
he may deem sufficient. 

Art. 28. Jurors may also be objected to for any just suspicion of par- 
tiality whatever, estabUshed by indications or circumstances, at the dis- 
cretion of the Judge. 

Art. 29. All the judicial acts contemplated by this law, shall be pub- 
lic, except the investigations of the police. 

Art. 30. The trial in all criminal cases, shall be conducted in the lan- 
guage of the accused party ; provided it be one of the two idioms estab- 
lished in Texas. And if a jury, acquainted with the language of the 
defendant, cannot be found or procured in the district where the crime 
was committed, he shall be sent for trial to the nearest district, in which 
the difficulty does not exist. 

Art. 31. Both in civil and criminal cases, the parties shall have the 
privilege of being heard by themselves, without employing an agent or 
attorney, at their option. 

Art. 32. In criminal cases, where the accused party may not be able 
to procure a lawyer or attorney to defend his cause, the judge shall ap- 
point one for that purpose ; and no one shall be permitted to excuse 
himself from this obligation, unless it be for some just cause approved by 
the Judge. 

Art. 33. In cases criminal, where there is no prosecutor, the prose- 
cuting attorney shall espouse the cause in the name of public justice ; 
and where a prosecutor appears he shall assist him in the trial. 

Art. 34. The Judge may conthiue the cause at discretion, on the soli- 
citation of one of the parties, for not being prepared to enter on the trial, 
for want of witnesses, or any other reasonable cause ; but always in 
such a manner, as not to retard the prompt administration of justice. 

Art. 35. If the person against whom a civil suit"~may have been com 
menced, shall be about to absent himself from the place, or it is feared 
that he may escape, or that he n\ay remove, or conceal his effects, they 
may be embargoed ; or he may be compelled to^ give bail with security 
for his compliance with the sentence of the court, and for his appear- 
ance before the same, to answer to the demands of the plaintiff*. 

Art. 36. Attorneys may be appointed in the ordinary way, or the litl- 



166 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

gant may present himself before the court even during the progress of 
the trial, and name his attorney, to continue and conclude the cause in 
his name — both signing the customary instrument in such cases ; in 
this case, the attorney is invested with all the powers and faculties of the 
principal himself, to follow up and conclude the action to its final sen- 
tence ; being personally responsible for the abuses which he may com- 
mit to the prejudice of his employer. 

Art. 37. It being an obligation due to society, that every man declare 
the truth when called on as a witness before the judiciary tribunals, in 
order that justice may be administered, no one shall excuse himself 
from so doing, unless it be under the exceptions established by law : 
neither can any one excuse himself, (having the proper qualifications,) 
from serving as a juror, unless he show good and sufficient cause. And 
in both cases the judge may compel the individual to compliance by the 
infliction of fines ; or imprisonment, in case the offender is unable to 
pay the fine. 

Art. 38. The witnesses shall be paid by the parties, except in those 
cases where the state is a party ; and the Judge shall designate, discre- 
tionally, what shall be considered a just compensation. 

Art. 39. In criminal cases, the wit lesses shall declare verbally before 
the Court, at the time of the *rial of the cause. 

Art. 40. In Plenary and JujL'ecutive trials, and in those of inquiry 
in criminal cases, a record shall be made of all the principal proceed- 
ings provided for in this law, and in the form th^ein indicated. In the 
inferior Courts, the primary judges shall make out and authenticate 
these records ; and in the Superior Court, that duty shall be perfoimed 
by the secretary thereof. 

Art. 41. The Executive Officers shall make out in writing, a shnple 
but clear and explicit statement, of the manner in which they have 
executed the orders of their superiors, and of all their official acts that 
ought to appear in trials by ivriting- ; which statement shall be signed by 
the Secretary and-J)istrict Sheriff; and in the inferior Courts, by the 
Primary Judge and Subaltern Sheriff; and in the Commissary's juris- 
diction by the Commissary and the Constable. 

Art. 42. These statements shall be placed according to the nature of 
the case, either in the record, or in the book, or at the foot of the orders 
executed, and in the place which they ought naturally to occupy. 

Art. 43. The official acts of the Judges and Commissaries shall be at- 
tested by assisting witnesses. 

Section III. Of the Administration of Justice in Criminal ca- 
ses. Trial verbal. 

Art. 44. Criminal trials are divided into three parts : the Verbal, for 
the correction and punishment of slight offences ; the Sumario, which 
is the prompt investigation of the crime, and the discovery of the crimi- 
nal, for the purpose of securing him, where the importance of the crime 
requires it ; and the Plenario, for the final resolution of the case, aiftl 
the application of the penalty, where the nature of the case requires its 
infliction. 

Art. 46. The violation of laws or regulations of police, the penalty 
of which does not exceed ten dollars, or three days imprisonment or 



LAWS OF COAHUILA AND TEXAS. 167 

Labor in the public works, shall be punished by verbal determination of 
the Judge or Commissary. 

Art. 46. Slight infractions of law, and all delinquencies which merit 
no other punishment than admonition, or moderate reproof, or where the 
pecuniary penally does not exceed ten dollars, shall be punished accor- 
dingiy. 

Art. 47. All decisions relative to those penalties, or fines, shall be re- 
corded in a book kept for that purpose, and shall be signed by the Judge 
and Jlssistin^- Witnesses, and shall be executed without appeal. 

Art. 48. Every person who shall be cited by the competent judge, for the 
decision of verbal trials, shall appear either personally or by his attorney, 
at the hour specified in the citation ; and if he should casually reside in 
another jurisdiction, he shall be cited by an official notice, directed to 
the Judge of the jurisdiction in vvhich he may reside : and if he refuse 
to answer by appearing, after such citation, the judge shall appoint lor 
him a suitable person to defend his case, and with him the demands 
shall be determined, and the sentence executed without redress. 

Of the T'rial Sumario. By 

Art. 49. Immediately on receiving information, whether by accusa- 
tion, letter, official notice, or in any other manner whatever, of a crime 
having been committed, for which a judicial process is required to be 
instituted, the Judge, or Commissary, as the case may be, shall take an 
account of said information, in writing, and shall conduce to the inves- 
tigation of the crime, and the detection of its author or authors. 

Art. 50. He (the judge or commissary,) shall concur promptly, with 
Assisting Witnesses, and others professionally instructed in such cases, 
if they can ba had, to certify the crime, with all its circumstances, re- 
cognising (if it be homicide,) the body, the situation of the wounds, 
their dimensions, and with what v/eapon they were inflicted ; if rob- 
bery, its signs, the previous existence of the thing robbed, the mode of 
entrance, and what vestiges or tracks may be discovered : and in like 
manner in all other cases, signing the investigations made, with the as- 
sisting witnesses and professional men, who shall previously be sworn 
to make a true and faithful report. 

Art. 51. After these preliminaries, the Judge shall take the declara- 
tion of the accused, if in his powes^nd afterwards examine all the wit- 
nesses, that may be had in the case. 

Art 53. When, according to the laws, the crime shall not merit the 
f)unishment of death, transportation, banishment, imprisonment, fetters, 
or labor on the pubUc works, the accused shall be set at liberty, giving 
bail and security in conformity with the 184th art. of the Constitution. 

Art. 53. Vagabonds, habitual drunkards, the quarrelsome, and the 
delinquent, who may have committed the same crime more than once, 
shall not enjoy the privilege mentioned in the preceding article. 

Art. 54. If upon examination, it appear that the accused is not guilty, 
he shall be set at liberty instajiter by the Judge ; but if the crime be 
proved, and the criminal ascertained, the sentence of imprisonment 
shall be made out, within forty-eight hours after his arrest : he shall be 
notified thereof, and sent to the Capital of the district, with a copy of 
the aforementioned sentence, that the Alcalde may be made acquainted 



168 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

with his responsibility ; and a summary of the whole proceedings, shall 
be forwarded to the Secretary of the district. 

Trial Criminal Plenario. By 

Art. 55. The District Secretaries shall keep a record, in a book suita: 
ble for that purpose, according to the dates of the sentences of impris 
onment, giving therein an account of the causes transmitted by the pri- 
mary judges, expressing the crime, the place and day on which it was 
committed, and the name of the delinquent. 

Art. 56. On examination of these causes, the Prosecuting Attorney 
in conjunction with the party injured, if he appear, and wish to contin- 
ue the trial, shall formally make out the accusation, and shall present a 
list of the witnesses intended to be procured on the day of the trial, ex- 
pressing the place of their residence, that the Sheriff may be able to 
cite them in due time for that purpose. 

Art. 57. The defendant shall also forward to the Secretary, a list of 
the witnesses whom he intends to employ in his defence, which shall 
be presented in time sufficient for their citation by the Sheriff. 

Art. 58. The Secretary shall deliver to the accused party a copy of 
the accusation, and of the list of the witnesses, at least three days pre- 
vious to that of the trial in order that he may be prepared to make a 
proper defence. 

Art. 59. The opening of the sessions of the Superior Court, on the 
day appointed, shall be verified by an act of solemnity, in which, be- 
sides the Superior Judge, the Syndick-procurador or Prosecuting Attor- 
ney, the Secretary, the Sheriff and the Attorneys of the Court — there 
shall be present also, all the Primary Judges, the Commissaries, the 
Subaltern Sheriffs and the Constables of the district. The Sheriffs and 
Constables shall be seated on the right hand of the Superior Judge — 
and the Primary Judges and Commissaries on the left ; the Prosecu- 
ting- Attorney, the Secretary and the Lawyers, shall be seated in front 
around a table, and the spectators shall remain standing. 

Art. 60. The Superior Judge shall open the session of the Court, 
by pronouncing a discourse analogous to the circumstances, directed 
principally to the instruction of the Judges and officers of justice, in 
the discharge of their several oWigations. 

Art. 6-1. This ceremony concludad, the judges and officers of jus- 
tice shall retire to their respective jurisdictions ; and the Courts shall 
proceed to the despatch of criminal causes, according to their grade and 
the order of their dates. 

Art. 62. That the accused may be present during his trial, he shall 
be brought before the court, which shall proceed immediately to the for 
mation of the jur'y. 

Art. 63. The box mentioned in the 15th art. of this law, containing 
the names of all the jurymen cited for the occasion, shall be put upon 
the table ; and the accused, or, on his refusal, the Secretary, shall draw 
out one name, and the Sheriff shall immediately cause the individual 
to present himself before the Court, in presence of the defendant ; and 
if not challenged by one of the parties shall take his seat in the court. 
This operation shall be repeated in the same manner, until the jury bo 
completed. 



LAWS OF COAHUILA AND TEXAS. 169 

Art. 64. If in consequence of objections made to jurors, the whole 
number shall be exhausted before completing the jury, the number that 
may be wanted shall be taken from among the bystanders, and those of 
the vicinity, whom the Sheriff shall immediately cite for that purpose. 

Art. 65. The number being completed, and the jury formed, they 
shall take an oath, to hear, try, and decide upon the matters in contro- 
versy, in the case then pending, truly and faithfully, according to 
the evidence and latvs that may be produced, relative to the case, 
ivithout deviating therefrom, either from favor, or enmity, fear or 
reivard, and they -will have communication ivith no individual -what- 
ever, on subjects connected tvith the case, out of Court, till they shall 
have given their verdict. 

Art. 66. The Court being ready to hear the cause, the plaintiff by 
himself, his attorney, or counsel, shall read the accusation, and ex- 
plain verbally and briefly, the principal points contained in it, and the 
evidence which he proposes to present. The defendant shall then ex- 
plain in the same manner, the grounds of the defence which he in- 
tends to make. 

Art. 67. This being concluded, the evidence shall be presented, be- 
ginning with the declaration of the Defendant upon the accusation ; 
who, after having concluded the relation which he shall make by him- 
self, shall be questioned by his Attorney, as he may see proper ; and 
his examination shalLbe concluded by questions on the part of the 
Plaintiff. The Judge may question him duruig any stage of the trial, 
before the summing up of the evidence. 

Art. 68. After the confession, the Snmario formed by the Primary 
Judge, shall be read, and the further evidence on the part of the Plain- 
tiff, shall be presented ; and afterwards that of the Defendant. 

Art. 69. The witness, after having been sworn to depose the whole 
and entire truth, according to the best of his knowledge, or as he niay 
be questioned upon the subjects then before the Court, shall declare with 
all the plainness and clearness he is capable of, what he may know in 
the case ; and the party who presented said witness, shall have the 
privilege of asking him any questions he may think proper. The op- 
posite party shall also be allowed the same privilege. The Judge may 
examine the witness at any time before the final conclusion of the 
testimony. ^^ 

Art. 70. The Secretary shall make a minute of the declaration of the 
witness, which he shall read in his presence, that he may be corrected if 
necessary ; and the witness shall sign it with the Secretary. 

Alt. 71. The testimony being concluded, the Plaintiff shall make 
a verbal plea, stating to the Court the reasons and circumstances that 
may appear most conclusive to establish his demand. The accused 
shall also make his defence in the same manner. 

Art. 73. The Judge shall then make such observations upon the 
evidence and facts deduced in the trial, as he may think proper and 
necessary for the instruction of the jury, who shall then retire for de- 
liberation. 

Art. 73. During their deliberations the jury shall remain in charge 
of the sheriff, and shall not be permitted to communicate in any man 

P 



no HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ner whatever, with persons out of Court, upon subjects connected with 
the trial. The sheriff shall render them all necessary assistance ; and 
if it be necessary to return into court, for information upon any point, 
he shall attend them. 

Art. 74. The verdict of the Jury being agreed upon, by the number 
required by law, it shall be committed to writing, expressing all the im- 
portant circumstances that may have been established by the evidence, 
and shall be signed by all the jurors; those however, who may dis- 
sent from the verdict, shall be permitted to express their separate opin- 
ion ; the decision shall then be presented to the Court, and read by the 
Secretary in a distinct voice, that it may be corrected by the Jury if 
necessary, and if approved, shall be added to the record. 

Art. 75. In conformity with the verdict of the jury, and agreea- 
bly to the laws, the judge shall pronounce the final sentence, with 
which act the trial shall be concluded. 

Section IV. On the Appeal of JWdlity. 

Art. 76. From the definitive sentence pronounced in the trial crimi- 
nal pleiiario, the only recourse which can be attempted in the appeal 
of nullity. 

Art. 77. This appeal of nullity shall be made within eight days after 
the sentence may have been pronounced, and before the same Court in 
which the case may have been tried, in order that it may be trans- 
mitted to the third Hall of the Supreme Court of Justice. 

Art. 78. The party that may attempt this appeal, shall express in 
writing the reasons upon which it is founded, and, shall deliver a copy 
of the same to the other party ; who shall make his replication within 
three days. It shall be admitted by the Judge, and the proceedings of 
the trial shall be officially transmitted by him, to the abovementioned 
Hall of Justice. 

Art. 79. This Court shall try the appeal, solely upon the proceedings 
of the Court below, without commencing a new prosecution, or requir- 
ing the presence of the parties : nor shall any attention be paid to de- 
fects that may appear in the Sumario, unless they be such as materially 
affect the case. 

Art. 80. If, in the proceedings of the trial, any of the formalities, oi 
important requisites, contemplated by the law, were omitted, the sen- 
tence shall be revoked by the Court, citing the laws on which the revo- 
cation is founded, and the whole sent back to the original Court, where 
a new trial shall be instituted. 

Art. 81. If the principles of the law may not have been accurately 
applied in the sentence to the facts established by the jury, it shall be 
corrected by the Supreme Tribunal, citing the laws on which it (the 
correction) is founded ; and the sentence, thus corrected, shall be car- 
ried into execution. 

Art. 82. If this appeal of JK^ullity be made on account of bribery of 
one of the jurors, who may have concurred in the opinion of the majority 
of the jury — an action shall be formed against said juror, without the 
necessity of a previous Sumario. He shall be taken into custody, and 
the trial shall proceed, with all the formalities provided for by this law 
in tho trial Criminal Plenario, to the definitive sentence : if this be 



LAWS OF COAHUILA AND TEXAS. 171 

condemnatory, the sentence pronounced upon the verdict of the jury, 
of which the condemned juror was one, shall be revoked and the trial 
commenced anew. 

Art. 83. The juror may interpose the plea of JVulUti/, in regard to 
the penalty that may have been imposed upon him ; and in that case, 
all the formahties mentioned in the preceding articles, in regard to cases 
of that nature, shall be observed. The penalty inflicted shall be the 
same as for that of perjury. 

Section- V. Of crimes committed by the Superior and Primary 
Judges. 

Art. 84. In case the superior Judge shall be accused of any crime, 
whether officially or ordinary, the provisions of the 197th article of the 
Constitution shall be observed, and the Legislature shall previously de- 
clare that there be just cause of action. 

Art. 85. The provisions of the above cited 197th article of the Con- 
stitution, shall also be observed in accusations against primary Judges, 
for crimes of office ; the Superior Court tirst declaring that there be just 
cause of action. 

Art. 86. For this purpose, the accusation shall be formed without the 
necessity of the process Sumario, provided in this law, and the trial 
shall be entered upon and pursued, according to the process Criminal 
Plenario, till the verdict of the Jury. In conformity with the regula- 
tions of law in such cases, the Judge shall declare whether there be 
sufficient cause of action or not. 

Art. 87. The declaration of the Judge being in the affirmative, the 
plaintiff shall present his accusation in form, directed to the correspond- 
ing Hall of the Supreme Court, which shall be added to the record, and 
without any examination whatever, shall be remitted to the above naen- 
tionedhall of justice. 

Art. 88. In conformity with the facts manifested in the record, and 
Ivithout admitting new evidence, the Supreme Tribunal shall proceed 
to take cognizance of and determine the cause, according to all the cir- 
cumstances of the case, and recourses permitted by the law — without 
the necessity of the personal appearance of the plaintiff; the Fiscal 
acting as prosecutor in the cause. 

Art. 89. The defendant may allege in his defence, the nullity of the 
Record, in cojiformity with the provisions of this law in such cases. 

Art. 90. The sentence given, the proceedings shall be transmitted to 
the Superior Court for its execution. 

Skction VI. Of the administration of Justice in Civil cases. 
Trial verbal. 

Art. 91. The primary Judges, and Commissaries, shall determine by 
themselves alone, and verbally, all demands, tlie import of which shall 
not exceed ten dollars, and a record of such decisions shall be kept in a 
book for that purpose, and be signed by the Judge or Commissary and 
the parties, or by two witnesses, in case the parties may not know how 
to write. 

Art. 92. The decisions in these cases shall be executed in conformity 
with the 179th article of the Constitution. 

Art, 93, In all cases of civil demands^ and in those for personal inju» 



172 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ries, the Alcaldes shall exercise the offices of Conciliators, in conformity 
with those laws promulgated to that effect. 

Of the Trial by Writing. By 

x\rt. 94. In order to commence an action by writing, the complainant 
shall present himself before the primary Judge of the respective jurisdic- 
tion, and shall signify his demand by a petition plainly and clearly ex- 
pressed, accompanied by a certificate of having attempted in vain, a re- 
conciliation with the opposite party ; and -without this requisite his de- 
mand cannot be admitted. 

Art. 95. The Judge shall immediately cite the defendant by a writ- 
ten notice, appointing the day of trial, and expressing in the citation the 
name of the plaintiff, and the subject matter of his demand. 

Art. 96. The Sheriff shall notify the defendant of the citation, and 
shall deliver him a certified copy thereof; and if he cannot be fomrd, 
the said copy shall be left at his house, or at the house where he may 
reside ; or, if he cannot be notified in this manner, it shall be posted up 
in the most public place of the jurisdiction. 

Art. 97. If the defendant reside m another jurisdiction, he shall Ik3 
cited by an official notice directed to the Judge of said jmisdiction. 

Art. 98. When the defendant cannot be found, or bis residence be 
out of the state, and under such circumstances, that he cannot soori re- 
turn ; or, being cited in the manner mentioned in the preceding article, 
he do not reply in the time specified in the citation ; or if in any stage 
of the trial, whatever, one of the parties shall hot appear, when under 
obligations to do so ; the Judge on information and petition of the party 
interested, shall appoint an attorney ad litim, for the party absent, and 
the trial shall proceed in the same manner as if the party himself were 
present. 

Art. 99. The absent party, however, may at any time appear, and 
continue the trial in person, and in that case the powers of his attorney 
shall cease. 

Art. 100. The defendant or his attorney, having replied to the de- 
mand, and^ the pleadings of the parties being concluded, the case shall 
be ready for trial. 

Art. 101. Neither of the parties shall be permitted to present more 
than two -writings ; and the term of three days shall be allowed for the 
Replica, counting from that of the Contestation ; and the same time 
shall be allowed for the Duplica, counting from that of the Replica ; 
and the Judge shall deliver these documents to the parties, to whom 
they may respectively appertain, immediately on receiving tiiem. 

Art. 103. For the despatch of civil cases, the tribunals spoken of in 
the 6th article of this law, shall hold their sessions at the times therein 
mentioned; and they shall continue till the conclusion of all the causes 
before them. 

Art. 103. All causes shall be despatched according to the order of 
their dates, unless there be just gi-ounds for their delay, subject to the 
strictest responsibility of the Judge. 

Art. 104. For this purpose a record shall be kept, in which shall be 
entered, with all clearness, the causes ready for trial, according to their 
dates ; stating the names of the parties, their attorneys, if they have any, 



LAWS OF COAHUILA AND TEXAS I73 

the matter of controversy, and the day of the conclusion of the pleadings 
preparatory to the trial. 

Art. 105. On the day assigned for the trial, the parties shall present 
their evidence ; and for this purpose they shall previously deliver to the 
Judge a list of the witnesses whose testimony they require, in time 
sufficient for them to be summoned by the Sheriff. 

Art. 1 06. If any of the witnesses reside out of the jurisdiction, the 
party interested shall present his interrogatories in sufficient time, and 
shall give notice to the other party, in order that he may add such in- 
terrogatory as he may think proper ; which he shall do within three days. 
Art. 107. The Judge shall transmit these documents, with an official 
notice to the Judge of the place of residence of witness or witnesses ; or 
with a commission in which he shall appoint one or more examiners, 
who shall take down in full the testimony given, under the usual form 
of oath in such cases. 

Art. 108. On the day appointed for the trial, and the parties being 
ready, the box Containing the names of the jurors who have been cited 
according to the 16th article of this law, shall be placed before 
them, and the plaintiff and defendant alternately, commencing with thjj. 
former, shall draw out the number of names necessaiy to form the ^^/q^^ 
and during the remainder of the trial, the same formalities s^Ji'tors who 
served, as are prescribed in the trial Crimiyial Plenario. 

Section VII. Of Appeal to the Superior. ^^^ ^^^ appeal to the su- 
Art. 109. The parties being with the d^^^^^^g^^^ei^^g strictly observed, 
carried into execution ; or otherwi-r . ,,,^ -d^ 

days, petition for an appeal ^.^^ j^^^^ ^^^ y^^ respected and obeyed, in 
Art. 110. The par^^^g^.j^j (juties — he may impose fines not exceeding 
to interpose this rj^j^^^^ or imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, being 
pose ot dela^^^^.^j^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ this power. 

^° ^ .r^l34. In case of the appeal Nullity, should it be necessary to 

f "^^ismit to the supreme court, a record that may be written m English, 

.ne Judge shall appoint a translator, who shall translate it into Spanish, 

and the appellant shall pay the cost of translation. i, „ ^ , , , 

Art 135. The dress of etiquette of the supreme Judge shall be black, 
or dark blue, and a white sash with gold tassels ; and this dress shall be 
used by him on all sokmn occasions. 

Art. 136. When the Judge, Commissary, Sheriff, or Constable, act 
unjustly, illegally, or arbitrarily, in the administration of justice, the 
party aggiieved may have recourse to the superior Judge, who, atter 
taking the information Sumario of the act, shall despatch the necessary 
order for the correction of the offence. 

Art. 137. All raunicipaUties shall contribute, according to the num- 
ber of their inhabitants, to the construction of a court house and jail, m 
the capital of the district to which they belong ; and in the mean time, 
for the securing of offenders, all fines and the other pecuniary penalties, 
which may be imposed according to this law, shall be applied to that 

Art. 138. The superior Judge shall give an account, eT;ert/ month, to 
the government of the state of the administration of justice m his circuit, 



174 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Art. 116. If either of the parties shall be dissatisfied with the opinion 
of the superior Court, he may resort to the appeal of JVullity, to the 
correspondent Hall of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice ; and in that 
case the provisions of this law concerning the appeal of Nullity shall be 
observed — remitting a certified copy of the record, the original being 
returned to the respective Judge, for the execution of the preceding 
article. 

Section VIIT. On Executions, and of the Trial Executive. By 

Art. 117. The officer to whom a writ of execution may be committed, 
m criminal cases, shall govern himself -ivith the most scrnpidous exact- 
ness according to the directions of the precept, in which the Judges 
shall take care to designate clearly all the circumstances which are to 
be observed., 

Art. 118. In civil cases also, the executive ofBcer shall be governed 
by the directions contained in the order of execution. 

Art. 119. In respect to judgments given, and an order of execution, 
a corresponding precept shall be issued, without the necessity of a new 
application by the party. 

Art. 120. The creditor who solicits an execution against his debtor, 
oui^I present a petition to the Judge, in which he shall set forth the 
turn ; or,''f his soUcitation, accompanied by the corresponding document. 
he do not rep^f the document be of that character which carries with it 
of the trial, whatever, v^.the corresponding precept shall be issued with- 
obligations to do so ; the Juuj^v. 

interested, shall appoint an attorney'lld. he shall be required by the ex- 
the trial shall proceed in the same manner a»^rth in the precept, or to 
present. ""^ levied. 

Art. 99. The absent party, however, may at any uise to designate 
continue the trial in person, and in that case the powers ot^rst on per- 
shall cease. -demand ; ^ 

Art. 100. The defendant or his attorney, having replied to the^ims, 
mand, and the pleadings of the parties being concluded, the case shv 
be ready for trial. ^r 

Art. 101. Neither of the parties shall be permitted to present more 
than two ivHtings ; and the term of three days shall be allowed for the 
Replica, counting from that of the Contestation ; and the same time 
shall be allowed for the Duplica, counting from that of the Replica ; 
and the Judge shall deliver these documents to the parties, to whom 
they may respectively appertain, immediately on receiving tliem. 

Art. 102. For the despatch of civil cases, the tribunals spoken of in 
the 6th article of this law, shall hold their sessions at the times therein 
mentioned; and they shall continue till the conclusion of all the causes 
before them. 

Art. 103. All causes shall be despatched according to the order of 
their dates, unless there be just gi-ounds for their delay, subject to the 
strictest responsibility of the Judge. 

Art. 104. For this purpose a record shall be kept, in which shall be 
entered, with all clearness, the causes ready for trial, according to their 
dates ; stating the names of the parties, their attorneys, if they have any, 



LAWS OF COAHUILA AND TEXAS. 175 

Judge shall appoint the appraiser, and also appoint a third to decide in 
case of a division. But, the Judge shall leave the third umpire, if the 
two first appraisers choose it, to their selection. 

Art. 128. On the day of sale, the property shall be cried in the 
proper hour awd sold to the highest bidder ; but at a price not less than 
iwo-thirds o£ the appraised value ; and the Judge shall give the pur- 
chaser a bill of judicial sale. 

Art. 129. In case there should be no bidders, or two-thirds of the ap- 
praised value be not oftered, the creditor may receive the property in 
payment of his debts, with the deductio2i mentioned ; and the Judge 
shall give him the corresponding instrument of writing. 

Art. 1 30. Any other creditor may oppose the payment on account of 
being preferred to the plaintiff; and where there are three or more cred- 
itors, having demands against the same debtor, and there be not property 
sufficient to satisfy the whole, there shall be called a Concurso. 

Art. 131. This trial is had between the debtor and his creditors, all 
being plaintiffs and defendants at the same time ; and these preliminary 
proceedings shall be concluded by two instruments of writing by each of 
the parties ; and the trial shall proceed and be concluded according to all 
the forms established by this law, for the trial Civil Plenario, until the 
judgment ; which in this case shall be called, the sentence of Graduation, 
because in it the order shall be designated, in which all the creditors who 
may have proved their rights shall be paid. 

Art. 132. From this sentence, either of the parties may appeal to the su- 
perior court, the dispositions of the law in such cases being strictly observed. 

Section- IX. Ge7ieral Provisions. By 

Art. 133. That the superior Judge may be respected and obeyed, in 
the discharge of his several duties — he may impose fines not exceeding 
tivo hundred dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, being 
always responsible for the abuse of this power. 

Art. 134. In case of the appeal Nullity, should it be necessary to 
transmit to the supreme court, a record that may be written in English, 
the Judge shall appoint a translator, who shall translate it into Spanish, 
and the appellant shall pay the cost of translation. 

Art. 135. The dress of etiquette of the supreme Judge shall be black, 
or dark blue, and a white sash with gold tassels ; and tliis dress shall be 
used by him on all solemn occasions. 

Art. 136. When the Judge, Commissary, Sheriflf, or Constable, act 
unjustly, illegally, or arbitrarily, in the administration of justice, the 
party aggiieved may have recourse to the superior Judge, who, after 
taking the information Siimario of the act, shall despatch the necessary 
order for the correction of the offence. 

Art. 137. All municipalities shall contribute, according to the num- 
ber of their inhabitants, to the construction of a court house and jail, in 
the capital of the district to which they belong ; and in the mean time, 
for the securing of offenders, all fines and the other pecuniary penalties, 
which may be imposed according to this law, shall be applied to that 
object. 

Art. 138. The superior Judge shall give an account, et^er?/ month, to 
the government of the state of the administration of justice in his circuit, 



176 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

as also the effects which this law may produce, and the difficulties or 
doubts which may offer themselves, in its execution, in order that they 
may recommend to the Legislature the proper remedy. 

Art. 139. The salaries established by this law shall be paid — the^r*^ 
year — with vacant lands situated within the judicial circuit, and at the 
rate of one hundred dollars (exclusive of the ordinary fees) for each sitio. 

Art. 140. In order to give this law the corresponding publicity, in the 
two languages spoken by the inhabitants of Texas, it shall be published 
in both idioms, and for that purpose the governor shall appoint a trans- 
lator possessing a critical knowledge of both. 

Section X. Things not Implied are Understood. 

Art. 141. Executions in all civil cases, shall not deprive the debtor 
of those things understood as the only means of his lawful subsistence, 
nor of those which simply imply his preservation and protection. As 

Art. 143. Every man shall have the right and privilege of retaining 
his wearing apparel, bed-clothing, cooking utensils, and the necessary 
implements of that trade, calling, or profession, whereby he is enabled 
to obtain the means of support ; as also his military accouterments, of 
whatever name, nature, or kind they may be. 

Art. 143. If the debtor should be a man of family, the property of his 
wife and children must be respected, whether it be the property of pur- 
chase, increase, or gift : if a gift from the debtor — to be valid to 
the owner, it must be given, received, and recorded in the office of 
the Alcalde of the jurisdiction, previous to the time the present debt, 
demanded by the Sheriff, was contracted. 

Art. 144. All debts are recoverable whenever property can be found, 
in the manner and form prescribed, within the articles of this law ; with 
the exception of gambling debts, and those which may have been con- 
tracted without the power of free agency ; which bondage shall be es- 
tablished verbally by two competent witnesses, or the written instrument 
of contract, which had been fraudulently obtained through the oppres- 
sive measures of the holder : if so, he shall be exonerated, and may 
recover such damages as the nature of the case will admit. 



BOOK VIII 



PEOPLE OF TEXAS, 

EARLY SETTLERS. 
The inhabitants in general are (or rather were) compo- 
sed of a class who had been unfortunate in life ; as it could 
hardly be supposed that the fortunate, except in a few in- 
stances, would voluntarily make choice of a country 
wherein they were to encouaiter such a number of diffi- 
culties as the first settlers had to contend with; who in a 
great measure were banished from the pleasures of life, 
and almost from its necessaries. So much so, that many 
of them had to rely upon the precariousness of the chase 
alone, for their first yearns support; oftentimes solacing 
themselves, men, women and children, on the flesh of a 
wild horse, and that often too, without the satisfaction of 
seasoning it with salt! although the whole country plentiful- 
ly abounds ynih. that useful article, particularly near the 
lower waters of the Coloi'ado, the central v/aters of the 
Guadalupe, the upper waters of the Brazos and the Na- 
ches; besides those licks on the lower waters of the Sa- 
bine and Trinidad, where (on all, especially the upper 
licks) salt is to be found in the dry season — to say noth- 
ing of the hydi-aulic process — in such profusion as to lie 
on the face of the earth, as thick as hoar frost in a win- 
ter's morning to the north; so that one can, by scraping 
it up with a small sheet-iron scraper, find such richly in> 
pregnated earth, as will produce by filtration, the one half 
of its own weight in pure salt! But at this time (a sin- 
gular circumstance) every one of those places which con- 
tained this precious deposit, were in possession of the hostile 
Indians, — Cranquhuas, Tonquewas, Wacos, Caddos, &c. 
&>c. Even those beautiful salt lakes, sixty miles west by 

177 



178 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

north of San Patrichia, (river Nueces) where the salt crys- 
lalizes in the bottom of those shallow waters, in pure 
transparent stratas of from four to six inches thick, and 
affording large quantities to be annually taken away with- 
out producing any scarcity, were in the hands of these 
truly exasperated and ferocious foes! 

But where were all those flocks of deer, buffalo, and 
bear, which at that time so plentifully abounded in the 
country? Either destroyed by so many depredating upon 
them for a living, or driven by a continual pursuit to the 
upper parts of the province, where it was as much as a 
man's life was worth to follow them! For similar reasons, 
about seven years ago in the northwest settlement (espe- 
cially in the settling of De Witt's colony,) some families 
were very glad to receive from the lower sections of the 
country a little corn for bread, at the exorbitant rate of 
■Hve dollars per bushel. But mark the change, it has been 
frequently had these four years past, in the same colony, 
at twenty-five cents per bushel! 

Again, while smoke-dried horse flesh was in such repute 
among the whites, where were the poor blacks, in these 
days of privation and suffering? They were ranging and 
ransacking every creek and pond, for fish, frogs, and even 
alligators. Yea, Colonel Groce of the Brazos lost many 
a good negro, who might have been living yet, had they 
always been successful in their alligator hunts. But, equal 
to the change in bread stuffs, has been (long ago) that of 
meat; beef and pork bringing not more in the home mar- 
ket, than from two to three cents per pound, 

CHARACTER OF EMIGRANTS. 

Now while the physical condition of the people is thus 
improving, they are at the same time establishing for them- 
selves a moral character; which may at this time bid de- 
fiance (^and that too with confidence,) to any state or pro- 
vince, within the boundaries of either republic, to produce 
a less number of state crimes, to the same number of in- 
habitants ; reckoning from the time the first American set- 
tled in Texas, up to the present day. 

True indeed, while many a poor man with a young and 



INNOVATORS. I79 

numerous tamily, looked to the large grants of land given 
in the country, as a security against future want and de- 
pendency, many an unfortunate debtor looked to it also as 
a land of refuge from his importunate creditors, until he 
could by the foundation he would receive in land, be en- 
abled to pay at least the principal, if not the interest. We 
must also acknowledge, at the same time that not a few 
single men had an eye to the inducements held forth by 
the government for tiieir benefit. There were several of 
the lazy and careless, who had their indolent eye turned 
upon it also, as a country wherein they could live easy; 
and where they could always -command hospitality, with 
no little respect from families, if not for their industry, 
at least for their company in solitariness, and their assist- 
ance in time of danger. 

Moreover as it lay on the confines of, as it were, two 
governments, and that to which it belonged being as it 
still is in its jurisprudential system very defective; there- 
fore did they who had inadvertently or otherwise, become 
obnoxious to the laws of their own country, find it in no 
little degree adapted for their better security: but who, in 
accordance with the opinion expressed in the Programme 
of this work, as soon as they were rid (whether justifia- 
bly or not) of those ti-ammels with which they had been 
surrounded, let their better judgements reign; and are, as 
to their present moral conduct, generally speaking, what 
would be termed good citizens, in any state or territory be- 
tween the Mississippi and the Rio Grande. 

INNOVATORS. 

In addition to these four characters, actuated by as ma- 
ny motives, to become subjects of the Mexican confedera- 
tion, there has been a fifth, as odd in their principle as in 
their number, selfishly interested and meanly deceitful; 
who, as the saying is, without rhyme or reason, want to 
receive the property of one government, while they were 
determined if possible, pugnis et caldhus, to belong to 
another. 

At the same time unable to bring forth one idea border- 
ing upon moral honesty, or even political expediency for 



180 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

their Utopian views ever to be carried into effect; either by 
the agency of amicable negotiation, or unfriendly rela- 
tions between the two governments, which have so lately 
been cemented together in the bonds of national recipro- 
city. 

What inducement, in the name of common sense, (put- 
ting common law aside,) is there for the United Slates to 
perplex herself about the province of Texas 1 Is it because 
her own citizens are, or likely soon to be, too confined 
within their present limits? Or is it, because the arable 
lands of her extensive territories, are to the amount of one 
sixth part under cultivation ? Or, that any thing can be 
produced in Texas, which will not be found in some part of 
the southern union? Or, that there is with the exception 
of Galveston Bay, a single harbor to be coveted by her na- 
vy? Or is it, because the sale of those waste lands and 
public woods, still undeededy would justify the purchase? 
Or is it, because the inhabitants, no%v voluntarily (to say 
nothing further) the adopted citizens of Mexico, have a 
claim on that Government which they abandoned? Or, that 
the constitution of the northern republic, can ever justify an 
aggressive war? Or, that the members of its Legislation 
will ever have a majority, in favor of such an acquisition 
to the southern interest? Or if they did, that the repub- 
lican part of the Mexican government, will majorically 
agree to such a proposition? 

But again, if the inhabitants of the province, without 
the sanction of their federal constitution, were to find a 
sufficiency of individual volunteers, to assist them in any 
unlawful undertaking, how are they to be paid ? For paid 
they must be ! no matter how sweetly they may at the com- 
mencement blow the trumpet of patriotism; remember the 
notes are different in one's own country, and even some- 
what difierent under any constitution; but at the end of 
the struggle, (at least of their exertions,) if disappointed 
of a remuneration from their past enemies, their quon- 
dam friends will hear the clarion of plunder (as the patri- 
otic San Antonians did, in 1812 after the defeat of Tole- 
do,) sound throughout their devoted land! So that th® de- 
luded inhabitants, in they- poverty, and their cause in dis- 



1 



INNOVATORS. 181 

grace, would sink into dishonor under the execrations of 
their former wellwishers, and become the justifiable scorn 
of their opposers. ' 

There are, therefore, but two plausible arguments which 
can be brought forward by such unprincipled speculators, 
in order to justify their schemes of aggrandizement, at the 
expense of their present benefactors: (Keep in mind, the 
Republicans of Mexico, not the unlav/ful usurpers of that 
government.) The Jirst which may happen, though it is 
not very likely, is in finding out that the true line of de- 
markation, between the tiDO governments, can be laid with 
any degree of right, west of the present supposed and ac- 
knowledged boundary. And the second which may take 
place, with a greater degree of certainty, is, in the Mexi- 
can Government, being tempted by the waywardness of 
their American Texasians, to dispose of the province, ra- 
ther than be at the trouble of controling them. But to 
whom would they offer it? to the Republican government 
of the north ? No indeed ! not in that case, but to the Gov- 
ernment of England, who have for just such a purpose stu- 
died to keep a pecuniary claim hanging over the Mexi- 
cans, which their own folly has as yet disenabled them from 
liquidating. So that it may. be the means, (which may hea- 
ven avert) of much war and bloodshed in this our peace- 
ful land; as the American Government would not only be 
bound by the demands of future tranquility, but by that of 
self-preservation to interfere, and that too with energy 
and effect, in order to avoid being as it were surrounded, 
and hemmed in by that ambitious, over-reaching, and ava- 
ricious nation! 

The pretensions of this fifth class of Texasians, have 
of late years been very much supported, by those uncon- 
scionable land speculators, who have wormed themselves 
into the country and its citizens' property, contrary to the 
expressed laws of the Mexican confederation. Therefore 
do they dread, and that with propriety too, the ordeal of 
Governmental inspection. One hundred per-cent has 
teen added to the strength of this party, since 1832, by 
the unjustifiable slave holders, who have had two vessel 
loads of negroes distributed among them, by the Africaff 

Q 



182 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

kidnappers ; while they well knew, that their former acta 
in that branch of business would not stand the test of their 
government's scrutiny — far less that, which had been 
transacted contrary Jo the combined laws of every Chris- 
tian nation ! 

The reader will perceive by the explanations given, that 
the actual property holders in Texas are divided into two 
classes, or parties; the Federal state right party, and the 
Independent state party, as the United States Unionists 
see the necessity of joining this last party, not only by 
their first expectations in entering the country being so 
hopelessly deferred, but that they may at least, in some 
small degree, by such a measure be realized. 

These two grand parties are strenuously upheld againsi 
the Government of their country, (no matter what that 
government may be, whether constitutional or anticonsti- 
tutional, so it deny the privilege of a separation from 
Coahuila,) by the ambitious office seekers, who micst re- 
ceive from the industry of the people that support which 
they stand, so much in need of, to maintain their pride and 
ostentatious display; which, without a state government of 
some kind, would inevitably as common citizens, bring 
them with all their warlike bravery p^nd rhapsodical elo- 
quence as far below the standard of industrious farmers 
and mechanics, as they would wish to be considered above 
them in the scale of society. 

Again, the people of Texas as an unsettled body, are 
supported by the unprincipled merchants both in and out 
of their country, who have been receiving for years duty 
Jree, or at the worst nearly so, one hundred per-cent above 
their prices on the same kind of goods sold in Matamoros, 
where all importing charges Jiad to be paid, and where 
they had made their profit calculations accordingly. There- 
fore, they are willing and (well may they be so,) to back 
any measure or set of measures, that may in the least de- 
gree be calculated to continue their fleecing and unhal- 
lowed Texian traffic! Now this Independent party, or 
those who wish themselves free from all responsibility to 
any Government, except their own, naturally through the 
uncontrolable force of circumstances fall into the views 



POLITICAL EVENTS. 183 

of the Constitutional state party- persuading themselves, 
that if that can be obtained, they will not only be enabled 
to build up and erect a sufficient screen of darkness be- 
tween them and their own Federal government, but in a 
great measure avoid coming in contact with that Govern- 
ment and its citizens to which so many of the Texasians 
are indebted. 

These many factions through well timed policy are 
thus amalgamated into one party; as the few dissenters 
who either live in or out of the country, neither add to 
nor impair the present dignity of that resistance made, 
nor the justice or injustice of those rights required by its 
influential inhabitants; who are enabled to have their op- 
posing strength strengthened, by enlisting the idle and the 
vicious, whose minds are as troubled as the w^aters they 
love to fish in, no matter who sinks or who swims, so that 
they wallow in the midst of that redundancy which, nolens 
volens, must be found in every political agitation. 

POLITICAL EVENTS. 

As a proper understanding of past occurrences will 
enable us with more certainty to judge of the result of 
passing events, I shall fall back, if not exactly to the time 
when the Texian Independents, already described, first 
committed themselves, yet to that period when the Con- 
stitutional party, always the most numerous of the two, 
brought the affairs of Texas, in and through those propi- 
tious circumstances of 1832, which transpired so oppor- 
tunely in the interior of the republic, to a favorable issue. 

On the 16tli of July 1832, ColonelJose Antonio Mexia, 
second officer of the second division of the liberating army 
(as it was then called) of General Montezuma, anchored off 
the mouth of the Brazos, with his fleet and forces, com- 
posed of five sail and 400 men. Colonel Mexia sailed 
from Tampico to attack the ministerial forces, at that time 
in possession of Matamoros, by the intercepted correspon- 
dence from Fort Velasco at the mouth of the Brazor, and 
other places of Texas, about the movements there — v/hich 
were attributed by the military commandants of these parts, 
to have for their object the separation of Texas from Mexico ! 



184 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

He had agreed to a cessation of. arms with Colonel 
Guerra, of the ministerial forces, [which speaks vohimes 
in the cause of Mexican national integrity,] and sailed 
from the Braso Santiago for Texas. Immediately on his 
arrival Colonel Mexia addressed an official letter to the 
second Alcalde of the second department of Austin's Col^ 
ony (at that time in Brazoria,) which was worded as 
follows : 

" Sir, I have the honor to inclose you a copy of the 
convention entered into by the Commandant-in-Chief 
of Matamoros, and myself, on the sixth of the present 
month. The Document will inform you of the motives 
which brought me to Texas ; and what would have been 
my course, had the late movements here been directed 
against the integrity of the national territory — God and 
Liberty. 

"Mouth of the Brazos river, on board the brig of war 
General Santa Anna." 

In the answer returned by the Alcalde, the succeeding 
expressions were couched. 

"The enemies of Texas — the enemies of the enterpri 
sing men who have devoted their time and labor to improve 
a country that was never before trod by civilized man — have 
taken pains, and are continually doing so, to attribute to 
us a disposition to separate from the Mexican confederation, 
We are Mexicans by adoption, we are the same in heart 
— and ivill so remain. If the laws have granted to us 
the honorable title of Citizens, we ^vish that title should 
be respected, and that the authorities established by the 
constitution of the State should govern us! 

"We are farmers and not soldiers — therefore desire that 
the military Commandants shall not interfere with us at 
all. Since 1830, we have been pretty much governed 
militarily, and in such a despotic manner, that we were 
finally driven to arms to resist within their limits, thq 
military subalterns of the general Government, 

" We have not insulted the flag of our adopted country, 
as had been surmised from our first movements ; but on the 
contrary, we have sustained its true dignity, and attacked 
those who have outraged it by using it as a pretext foy 



POLITICAL EVENTS. 185 

their encroachments upon the Constitution and sovereignty 
of the state of Coahuila and Texas, and as a cover for their 
baseness and personal crimes. 

" The commandant of Fort Velasco, acted under the or- 
ders of the commandant of Anahuac, Colonel Juan Davis 
Bradburn, who was his superior. An investigation of the 
conduct of this officer at Anahuac, will inform you fully 
of the details of many despotic and arbitrary acts. He 
was sustained by the commandant of Nacogdoches, Col- 
onel Piedras, and by that of Fort Velasco, Lieutenant 
Colonel Ugartechia; and consequently we were compelled 
to oppose them all! 

" Therefore, we attacked Fort Velasco, on the 27th of 
last montli, with 112 farmers hastily collected, without 
discipline and badly armed; and after an obstinate and 
bloody engagement of eleven hours, it capitulated on the 
terms expressed in the enclosed copy of the capitulaticn; 
every article of which has been strictly complied with en 
our part, — besides furnishing him with the provisions he 
needed for his troops." 

So courageously did the Americans fight, and so hu- 
manely did they treat their prisoners afterwards, that the 
Mexican officer Dominic Ugartechia, expressed his aston- 
ishment, by saying (no doubt a little -through flattering 
policy,) ^That such people were unconquerable! as they 
would by their humanity gain as many hearts, as they 
could heads by their valor! And, that if he had a thou- 
sand of such men as had attacked him, properly disciplined, 
he could march even in a hostile manner to the city of 
Mexico ! !' 

By a deputation of Brazorian citizens. Colonel Mexia, 
in company with Colonel F. Austin, (the first founder of 
these Colonies) was conducted to Brazoria. 'On their 
arrival they were received by the committee of vigilance, 
and by two of the Turtle Bayou deputation, bearing in 
their hand those resolutions which had been adopted at 
the beginning of the contest in Anahuac' Which were 
presented to Colonel Mexia in the following dress. 

" The colonists of Texas have long since been convinced 
q2 



186 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

of the arbitrary and unconstitutional measures of the ad- 
ministration of Bustamente J as evinced- 
• 1st. By their repeated violations of the Constitution 
and Laws, and the total disregard to the civil and political 
rights of the people, 

2d. By their fixing and establishing among us in the 
time of peace, military posts, the officers of which, totally 
disregarding the local civil authorities of the State, have 
committed various acts evincing opposition to the true in- 
terest of the people, in the enjoyment of civil liberty. 

3d. By arresting the Commissioners, especially Juan 
Francisco Madero, who on the part of the State govern- 
ment, was to put the inhabitants east of the river Trinity, 
in possession of their lands, in conformity with the laws 
of Colonization. 

4th. By the interposition of military force, preventing 
the Alcalde of the jurisdiction of Liberty, from the exer- 
cise of his constitutional functions. 

5th. By appointing to the revenue department, men 
whose principles are avowedly inimical to the true interests 
of the people of Texas ; and that too, when their character 
for infamy had been repeatedly established. 

6th. By the military commandant of Anahuac, advising 
and procuring servants (mark, not slaves) to quit the ser- 
vice of their masters, and offering them protection ; causing 
tbem to labor for his own benefit, and refusing to compen- 
sate for the same. 

7th. By imprisonment of our citizens without lawful 
cause; and claiming the right of trying said citizens by a 
Military court, for offences of a character cognizable by 
the civil authority alone." 

In consideration of the above mentioned Grievances, a 
large meeting of the people was held near to Anahuac, 
where the following resolutions were drafted out by their 
leaders, and of course adopted. 

^^ Resolved— That we view with feelings of the deepest 
regret, the manner in which the government of the Re- 
public of Mexico is administered by the present dynasty. 
The repeated violations of the Constitution; the total dis- 
regard cf the laws; the entire prostration of the civil 



POLITICAL EVENTS. 187 

powers; are grievances of such a character, as to arouse 
the feelings of every freeman, and impel him to resis- 
tance ! 

Resolved — -That we view with feelings of the deepest 
interest, and solicitude, the firm and manly resistance 
which is made by those Patriots under the highly talented 
and distinguished chieftain Santa Anna, to the numerous 
encroachments and infractions which have been made, by 
the present Administration, upon the Laws and Constitu- 
tion of our beloved and adopted country. 

Resolved — That as freemen devoted to a correct in- 
terpretation and enforcement of the constitution and laws, 
according to their true spirit, we pledge our lives and for- 
tunes, in support of the same, and of those distinguished 
leaders who are now so gallantfy fighting in defence of 
civil Liberty. 

Resolved- — That all the people of Texas, be invited to 
co-operate with us, in support of the principles incorpora- 
ted in the foregoing resolutions." 

As soon as the business with Colonel Mexia was con- 
cluded, he was invited to a public dinner and ball given on 
the occasion, and at which the following toasts were drank 
and cheered with lively interest: 'The republic of 
Mexico, and the States of the North — They are the same 
in principle and object, and need only know each other, 
to be united in feelings, and warm friendship 1' 

'Coahuila and Texas — They are dissimilar in soil, 
climate and productions; therefore they ought to be dis- 
solved !' 

There were many more political sentiments expressed, 
relative to the course of freedom and equality; but as they 
were either congratulatory, or of less moment in a politic- 
cal point of view, it may well be deemed unnecessary to 
rehearse them; as these alone will enable the reader to 
dravv^ the right kind of conclusion, on the public manifes- 
tations of feeling displayed by the Texasians, as soon as 
possible, after the necessary Mutatis mutandis has been 
made suitable to their ostensible purpose. 

And at that time, it was peculiarly necessary for them; 
as they had by one precipitate movement thrown their po- 



188 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

litical existence Ipso facto, upon the cast of a single die' 
For as soon as the people who were movb immediately 
under the iron grasp of oppression, made an open resist- 
ance, they were joined by the proud and uncontrollable 
spirits of the other districts; who were determined, let the 
consequences be as they might, to assist their brethren in 
arms on the present emergency ; considering their cause 
as the cause of the whole American community!! 

In order then to consolidate the exertions of the people, 
who had gone too far to recede, and make their exertions 
as efficient as possible, — did the Ayimtamiento of Austin 
call on all the subordinate officers of the Colonies, to con- 
vene and take the sentiments of the citizens officially and 
judiciously; sending them without delay to the Alcalde, 
that he might lay them' before the Political Chief from 
Bexar, — who was at that time sitting in San Felipe de 
Austin, on an investigation of those causes which had led to 
such agitating results; and who should as he had come for 
that special purpose, be made acquainted with the Ulti- 
matum of the Americans' determinations. From which it 
was soon known, however modified by localities, princi- 
ples, or circumstances, that oppressive measures by means 
of Military power, luould not be suffered to exist, where 
civil authority had been guaranteed by the Constitution 
and Laws, alone in peace to reign. Then did the Ayun- 
tamiento see meet to make an expose of the whole matter, 
from the beginning of the Ji?'st dispute, between the stat3 
of Coahuila and Texas, and the general Government, up 
to the present day : showing the measures which had been 
pursued, in order to avoid the present difficulties; which 
difficulties had been accelerated by the uncompromising 
spirit of General Manuel Mier y Teran, the Commandant 
General of the eastern States; and which obstinacy on the 
part of government and its officers, had led to the present 
disagreeable posture of affairs ; which affiiirs had been car- 
ried on heretofore, without any regularly organized plan 
of physical resistance. 

^But now,' said they, ^when public opinion becomes so 
manifest as to leave no doubt of the feelings and desires of 
the mass of tlie community^ it is the duty of the local 



I 



POLITICAL EVENTS. 189 

Authorities, so to consult that opinion, as to prevent a dis- 
turbance of public tranquility — as they felt the peculiarly 
delicate situation of the settlers of these Colonies, owing 
to their being of foreign birth. 

'It was well known that every species of calumny had 
been heaped upon them, by the enemies of Texas, and a 
republican and enlightened emigration; with a design of 
reviving among the Mexicans the old Spanish prejudices 
against persons born in another country. It was feared 
that these enemies would take advantage of any disturb- 
ance here to pervert the -truth, and attribute to them hos- 
tile views against the Mexican territory and federal Con^ 
stitution ! 

< This body was under the immediate eye and direction 
of the Political Chief of the Bexarian department, who 
was then in the town, and who was equally anxious to 
preserve the public tranquility; and who, we are assured, 
is as much opposed to military encroachments as any man 
in the community. 

'Under past circumstances, this body used every effort 
to preserve good order, and keep the settlers from partici^ 
pating in the present war; and it is probable, that these 
efforts would have been successful, had not events been 
precipitated in the manner they had been, by the tyranni- 
cal and illegal acts of Col. Bradburn. 

'But now, as public opinion has expressed itself in the 
most decided and unequivocal manner, in favor of thatpar» 
ty whose proclamations profess their intentions to be, the 
restoration of the Government to its true Constitutional 
basis, and to make it in practice, what it professes to be 
in theory, — a free Republican constitutional confedera- 
tion, of sovereign states! 

'We therefore, the Ayuntamientos as a body, freely 
unite with the people, in the several jurisdictions of the 
Brazos Department, in the following resolutions. 

' 1st. That we solemnly adhere to the principles of the 
republican party headed at present by General Antonio 
Lopez De Santa Anna. 

'2d. That the inhabitants of this Colony have no other 
object in view, than to contribute their feeble voice and 



190 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

aid in sustaining tlje Constitution and the true dignity and 
decorum of the National flag. 

'3d. That they tvill support the rights and privileges 
of the state of Coahuila and Texas, which have been in- 
sulted by military encroachments in these colonies since 
1830; and that they will at all times be ready to take up 
arms, in defence of the independency and constitution of 
their adopted country, and the integrity of its territory! 

*4th. That the General and State constitutions ought to 
be religiously observed, as the only guarantee for public 
tranquility and national freedom. 

'5th. That a large standing army in time of peace with 
all nations, is a burden to the people, and consumes the re- 
venue of the nation, without any benefits; and is contin 
ually disturbing the public peace, by affording the means 
of committing and defending despotic acts ! and of produ- 
cing revolutions!! 

'6th. That the acts of the present Administration, have 
been directed to embarrass and retard, rather than to pro- 
mote and encourage emigration, to cultivate its uninhabi- 
ted and wild lands; to the evident injury of the national 
advancement and prosper] t}-. 

<7th. That a copy of this act shall be delivered to Col. 
Jose Antonio Mexia, with a request that he will transmit 
the same to his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, Gen. 
Santa Anna, with the assurance of the respect and hearty 
co-operation of the inhabitants of this Colony, in the glo- 
rious work of political regeneration in which he is engaged! 

'8th. That a copy of this act be tendered to his Honor 
Ramon Musquez, Political Chief of all Texas, to be for- 
warded by him to the Adelantado, in order that his Excel- 
lency may be pleased to use his influence with the Legis- 
lature, — whom we respectfully petition to take under con- 
sidei-ation the principles of this act, and to adopt such mea- 
sures as in their judgements will tend to the security and 
protection of the State's sovereignty.' — 27th July, 1832. 

The citizens of Colonel Green De Witt's Colony having 
fulfilled the law, so as to be entitled to an Ayuntamiento 
of their own — had applied, and received from the Gov- 
ernment an order for that especial purpose : therefore, not 



1>0LITICAL EVEJNTS. )91 

being under the immediate influence of the Austinian 
court, Ramon Musquez, their Political Chief, called on 
them to be convened, in order to have their sentiments 
transmitted to him by the hands of their Commissario — 
*.For peradventure,' said he, 'they may assist in restoring 
order!' Having been thus called upon in the most criti- 
cal period of the Austinian contest with the soldiers of 
Government, they considered it as a duty incumbent on 
them to act with energy and promptitude, and to couch 
their official document in terms of sincerity and truth ; for 
as frontier Colonists of government, they had as yet 
nothing to complain of, except the wilhdrawing of those 
troops which had been among them for their protection. 

And, however they might feel interested in the cause 
wherein the Colonists of Austin had been engaged, they 
were careful in respect of committing themselves, as they 
were still depending on the friendship of Navarro their 
land Commissioner, and had never been officially called 
upon by either of the contending parties to espouse their 
cause; but, above all, they felt and knew by dear bought 
.experience, that they still stood upon debatable ground 
with the Indians! 

They thought it proper therefore, under the influence 
of these considerations, not only to transmit their documen- 
tary communication through the medium of a respectable 
committee, duly appointed by the suffrages of the people; 
but to present it in that dress and form, necessary from an 
inferior, in order that it should be favorably received by a 
Mexican Superior. 

As in England the wax seal is a mark of respect, so in 
Mexico the vacant left hand side of the sheet is a mark of 
dependency. Thus : 

To 

. His Excellency 

Ramon MrsatTEz, 
By the inhabitants of Green De 
Witt's colony in accordance to in- 
struction. 
Sire — 

As we -have never been 
officially informed, either by the pre- 
sent reigning GoveTnment; headed 



192 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

by the A^ice President Bustamente, 
or by their opponents, headed by 
Gen. Santa Anna, of the nature of 
these differences which exist between 
them ; and as Citizens of a pohty 
amenable only to our Federal head^ 
we are as yet perfectly satisfied with 
measures heretofore pursued by that 
head in relation to us ; and, were it 
otherwise, we feel our insufficiency 
to step between them and their ex^ 
planations of the Constitution and 
laws of our adopted country ! More- 
over, having never had laid before 
us in a tangible shape, the difficul- 
ties existing between the Colonists 
of Austin and the Commandants of 
the Forts Anahuac and Velasco : we 
are therefore, at this time, equally 
unable to decide as to the merits or 
demerits of either of the contending 
belligerents ! 

Therefore, to you. Sir, as our or- 
gan of Governmental correspond- 
ence, we would have it made fnlli/ 
known, and by them perfectly un- 
derstood, that we, the colonists of 
Colonel Green De Witt, are by our 
present unprotected situation, liable 
to be cut off by the savage foe ! 
consequently, unable to render any 
physical assistance, if so required, to 
our brethren of Mexico, of Vera 
Cruz, or of Texas. 

Humbly trusting, that our preca- 
rious condition will be a sufficient 
excuse for our neutrality — not only 
to you. Sir, who know our state ex- 
perimentally, and who have more 
than once expressed a fatherly solici- 
tude for our preservation — but to 
that Government you represent, on 
whose paternal care and munificent 
generosity we implicitly rely !! 

Signed, sealed and attested in pro- 
per form, &c. 

On the proceedings of Austin's Colonists, having been 
made known at Nacogdoches, the people of the District 
expressed their approbation, by joining heartily in the 



POLITICAL EVENTS. 193 

Vera Cruzian plan of liberty and justice; so much so, that 
when Colonel Piedras, Commandant of Fort Nacogdoches*, 
had been checked in his desire of assisting Bradburn, and 
had refused at Colonel Mexia's request to join the libe- 
rating army, they arose, en masse, to dislodge him from his 
position, or bring him and his men over to that cause^ 
which their brother Americans had adopted, and to which 
they also were determined to belong. 

Not that Colonel Piedras had ever been their enemy or 
oppressor: by no means, for he had at all times been the 
Americans' firm friend and generous benefactor. Al- 
though he had such claims on their sympathetic feelings, — 
and although the citizens of Nacogdoches would, in their 
pecuniary affairs suffer severely by losing the emoluments 
derived from that specie payment, given for those neces- 
saries the troops required — yet the spirit of cJiivalry 
was afloat, and resistance of quantum sitfficit was not 
enough ! 

As it was generally supposed by the Nacogdochesians, 
that Piedras would try to induce the Cherokees and Shaw- 
nees, at that time in the neighborhood, to assist him 
against the Americans, they therefore requested of the 
Indians to remain neutral, which they did, although the, 
Shawnees were still in a state of exasperation against 
the Mexican Waehinangoes ; having as they supposed, in 
the summer of 1832, been scurvily treated by the sol- 
diers of Bexar, making a feint in favor of the Comanches, 
when the Shawnees had attacked one of their encampments 
in the vicinity of that place, — and would (had the Mexi- 
cans staid at home,) have carried off a hundred horses, af- 
ter killing 114 of their Comanche enemies, with a loss only 
of 7 men out of the 28 Shawnees who had been so daring 
and fearless as to throw themselves at the break of day 
into the midst of 300 warriors I 

The Mexican and American contest was long and se- 
vere, as the former fired from behind their quartel, and 
the latter from under the cover of their houses. And al- 
though there was a continual skirmish kept up from early 
noon to dark, by upwards of 300 men on each side, yet 
by their being so protected, there were only 3 Americans 

E 



194 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

killed and seven wounded ; and of the Mexicans 18 killed 
and 22 wounded. 

The Mexican troops evacuated their fort during the 
night, and retreated towards the interior; but they were 
met in the morning of the ensuing day by a party of 18 
horsemen, who shot the leader of their advance guard, as 
he was in the act of crossing the Laco, and drove his men 
back upon the mam body, who were advancing through 
the adjoining swamp. They were ordered to surrender 
immediately! as the woods were filled with armed men. 
The information had the effect desired; but not until the 
only remaining lieutenant of the Mexicans had walked 
up with his sword by his side, and a loaded pistol in each 
hand to his colonel, threatening him with instant death! Mf 
their lives should any more be so wantonly exposed by his 
orders.' He yielded his sword with regret, and his men 
returned prisoners to their plundered Quartel in Nacogdo- 
ches, where the victors sat down to a sumptuous dinner, 
prepared out of their former benefactor's bountifully suppli- 
ed larder, and where Col. Piedras sat a corner supplicant, 
until a private citizen took pity on him, for which he re- 
turned him his grateful thanks, and on the empty plate a 
Mexican dollar! It being a prevalent opinion among the 
American colonists, that the Mexicans of Bexar would not 
give up, without a physical struggle, the volunteers began 
to gather from all parts of the province, to Gonzales, in 
order not only to bring the Bexarians, the Galiodians, and 
the De Leonites, but the oppidans of every other town in 
the State, into subjection, or into the measures of the Ve- 
ra Cruzian liberalists. 

At this particular crisis of assumptive power, the Gon- 
zalesians received an express from Leona Vicario, inform- 
ing them that their Adelantado had declared for the Consti- 
tution and the patriotic cause. At the same time a special 
messenger from San Antonio de Bexar, stated, that they 
had agreed also to this work of political reformation. 
Upon hearing such agreeable news, the volunteers re- 
turned to their respective homes, as the Bexarian de- 
claration embraced all the other Spanish settlers in the 
department; for they always look to the citizens' move- 



POLITICAL EVENTS. 195 

ments of that place, for their criterion of political expe- 
diency ! 

Thus ended the warlike commotions of these Colonies 
on the 2d September, 1832, just as the inhabitants were 
informed that their (at that time) greatest arch enemy 
General Teran and his troops, on their way to Mexico 
from Matamoros, had been surrounded by the liberal forces 
of General Montezuma, and that too on the identical plain 
where the injudicious Iturbide lost his life! Teran, hav- 
ing determined within himself neither to unite with the 
Liberals, nor to submit to them as a prisoner, retired to a 
private place, and fell on his own sword! appearing to those 
who found him, while still alive, as inexorable in the agonies 
of death, as he was uncompromising in political life!! 

Now at the conclusion of this rather premature affair, 
the Texasians had to congratulate themselves, that by their 
movements throughout, they had displayed to the world an 
energy in action and a promptness in coalition, which did 
them honor; and showed that the determinations of the ma- 
ny were completely matured on the principles of loyalty to 
their adopted country; and that their utmost wish and 
earnest desires were, that those persons should always 
reign and govern, who are actually directed by the Con- 
stitution and laws of their Federal Union. And that they 
thoroughly believed in every genuinely impressed republi- 
can, sacrificing upon the altar of his country every thing 
extraneous to the real honor and true glory of that coun- 
try! studying to convince one another, more by the force 
of mental reasoning than by any thing in the shape of phy- 
sical power, that it is only by unanimity of sentiment and 
consistency of action, that there can be national wealth, 
individual prosperity, and republican safety!! 

Such motives as these, governing the mass, would finally 
triumph. But alas! there has been — now is — and I fear 
will be, such men in Texas as are governed by very im- 
proper motives, and who have, by their headlong conduct, 
brought on serious consequences, besides prejudicing the 
minds of many a Mexican, which time and the best of con^ 
duct can hardly eradicate. If it were only the insignifi- 
cantly ignorant who were thus impressed, the matter would 



190 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

be light; but there are knowing, and influential characters 
too, who look on the inhabitants of Texas as being so much 
under the control of these individuals, that nothing can 
debar them from fulfilling Esop's fable of * the frozen viper 
and the good natured country man!' believing that the ex- 
perience their nation received from the American Freedo- 
nians of Nacogdoches, in 1827, and by that knowledge 
which they possess (however it was glossed over,) of the 
motives whereby the people were at ^rsi actuated, when 
they commenced the past political commotions in these 
colonies, that the American citizens thereof only wanted 
the ingredient strength to declare themselves independent 
of the Mexican confederation; or, at least, to make their 
country a troublesome and unprofitable appendage ! 

SECESSIONAL CONSTITUTION. 

Form of the proposed Constitution of Texas, dratvn up by the 
Texas convention q/" 1833 and 1833. 

In the name of God, Omnipotent Author and Supreme Legislator of 
the Universe — 

We, the people of Texas, being capable of figuring as a state, (1) in 
the manner contemplated in the second article of the decree of the gen- 
eral Congress of the nation, of the 7th of May, 1824, — do ordain the 
following Constitution ; and do mutually agree with each other, to form 
ourselves into a full and independent state of the Mexican Confederacy, 
by the name of the ' State of Texas.' 

General Provisions. 

Art. 1. All power is inherent in the people, and dWfree governments 
are formed upon their authority, and established for their peace, safety, 
and happiness. For the advancement of those ends, they have an in- 
violable right to alter, reform, and abolish the government in such a 
manner, as they may think proper. 

Art. 2, Government being instituted, for the protection and common 
interest of all persons, the slavish doctrine of non-resistance against ar- 
rogant power and oppression, is discarded, as destructive to the happi- 
ness of mankind, and as insulting to the rights, and subversive to the 
wants of any people. 

Art. 3. All elections shall be free and equal. 

Art. 4. The right of trial by jury, and the privilege of the writ of 
habeas-corpus, shall be established by law, and shall remain inviolable. 

Art. 5. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures : and general 
warrants, whereby an officer may be commanded to search suspected 
places, without evidence of the facts committed, or to seize any person 
or persons not named, whose offences are not particularly described and 



SECESSIONAL CONSTITUTION. 197 

SBpported by evidence — are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be al- 
lowed. 

Art. G. No citizen shall be taken or imprisoned, or dispossessed of 
his freeholds, liberties, or privileges — or exiled, or in any manner dis- 
trained — or deprived of his life, liberties or property — but by the law 
of the land. 

Art. 7. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to be 
heard by himself and counsel ; to demand the nature and cause of the 
accusation against him, and to have a copy thereof. He shall be con- 
fronted by his accusers and the witnesses ; he shall have compulsory 
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor ; and in prosecutions by 
indictment or presentment, a speedy public trial by an impartial jury 
of the municipality or district, in which the crime shall have been com- 
mitted ; and shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself. 

Art. 8. No person, for the same ofTence shall be twice put in jeopardy 
of his life or limb. 

Art. 9. No retrospective law or laws impairing the obligations of con- 
tract shall be made. 

Art. 10. No conviction shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture 
of estate. 

Art. 11. No person confined in jail shall be treated with unnecessary 
rigor. 

Art. 12. No person shall be compelled to answer any criminal charge 
but by presentment, indictment, or by a concurrent vote of both houses 
of the legislature, as provided by this constitution. 

Art. 13. All persons shall be bailable by sufHcient sureties, unless 
for capital crimes, without the proof is evident, or the presuCiption strong; 
and the privilege of the writ of habeas-corpus, shall not be suspended, 
except in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may re- 
quire it. 

Art. 14. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines in> 
posed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. All courts shall 
be open, and every man, for an injury done him in his land, goods, 
or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law; and rights and 
justice administered, without sale, denial, or delay. 

Art. 15. The person of a debtor, when there are not strong presump- 
tions of fraud, shall not be continued in prison, after delivering up his 
estate to the benefit of his creditors ; in such a manner as shall be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Art. 16. The fi-ee communication of thoughts and opinions, is one 
of the inviolable rights of men ; and every man may fully speak, write, 
print, and publish, on any subject ; being responsible for the abuse of 
that liberty. But, in prosecutions for the publication of papers — in 
investigating the official accounts of men in public capacity, the truth 
thereof may be given in evidence — as well as in personal actions of slan- 
der ; and in all indictments for libels, the jury shall have a right to de- 
termine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other 
cases. 

Art. 17. No man's particular services shall be demanded, nor property 
taken and applied to public use, without the consent of himself or his 

r2 



198 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

representatives, or without just compensaiion being made therefor, ac- 
coiding to law. 

Art. 18. The people have a right to assemble in a public name, for 
the common good — to instruct their representatives, and to apply to 
those invested with the power of governiiicnt, for the redress of grievr 
ances, and for other purposes, by address or remonstrances. 

Art. 19. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a 
free government, and shall not be allowed. 

Art. 20. The sure and certain defence of a free people, is a well 
regulated miUtia; and it shall be the duty of the Legislature to enact 
such laws as may be necessary to the aggrandizement of the militia of 
this state. 

Art. 21. No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in the house 
or within the enclosure of any individual, without the consent of the 
owner ; nor in time of war, but in manner prescribed by law. 

Art. 22. All persons residing in Texas, at the center of this constitu- 
tion — except bond servants, and other yjersons not liable to taxation, by 
virtue of the laws enacted under this constitution, shall be recognized as 
Citizens, and entitled to all the benefits of persons who emigrated to 
this country under the colonization law of 18'25 — and shall be ac- 
knowledged as entitled to all the rights and privileges of such emigrants. 

Art. 23. No property qualifications shall be required, to entitle a 
citizen to vote or value any oliice in the gift of the people of this state. 

Art. 24. All contracts or transfers of property, by will or otherwise, 
as well in relation to real, as personal estates, which have been made in 
Texas heretofore, or which hereafter may be made in good faith by the 
parties, shall not be void for any want of form, but shall be construed 
and confirmed according to the intentions of the parties. 

Art. 25. All elections in this stiirte, shall be by ballot, and the man- 
ner thereof shall be prescr bed by law. 

Art. 26. Treason against the State, shall consist only in levying war 
against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. 
No porson shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two 
witnesses to the overt act. 

Art. 27. The benefit of education and of useful knowledge, gene- 
rally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation 
of a free government : the protection and advancement of these two 
great objects are given in solemn charge to the Legislature. It shall be 
the particular duty of the government to patronise and cherish the in- 
terest of literature, of science and the arts ; and as soon as practicable, 
to establish schools, where the poor shall be taught gratis. 

Ijegislative Department. 

Art. 1. The Legislative authority of this State shall be vested in a 
Legislature, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representa- 
tives, both dependent on the people. 

Art. 2. The members of the Legislature shall be chosen by the quali- 
fied electors, and serve for the term of two years, from the day of com- 
mencement of the general election, and no longer. 

Art. 3. The Senators and Representative? shall be chosen every two 
years ; on the first Monday in August, and Uie day following. 



SECESSIONAL CONSTITUTION. 199 

Art. 4. Within three years from the meeting of the first Legiskture, 
under this constitution, an enumeration of the population of this state, 
shall be made agreeable to the mode which shall be prescribed by the 
Legislature ; and the appointment and representation shall be regulated 
by law. 

Art. 5. The number of Senators shall, at the several periods of ma- 
king the enumeration before mentioned, be fixed by the Legislature, 
and apportioned among the several precincts, formed as hereinafter di- 
rected, according to the number of taxable inhabitants in each ; nor 
shall ever be less than one third, nor more than one half of the whole 
number of Representatives. 

Art. 6. Elections for Representatives for the several precincts entitled 
to representation, shall be held at the places of holding their respective 
courts, and at such other places as the Legislature may prescribe. 

Art. 7. The Senators shill be chosen by districts, to be formed by 
the Legislature, according to the number of taxable inhabitants in each ; 
provided no precinct shall be divided in forming a central district. 

Art. 8. For the first three years after the adoption of this constitu- 
tion, the Legislature shall meet annually, on the first Monday in No- 
vember ; and thereafter it shall meet biennially, on the same day — be 
held at the same place as the Ijcgislature shall prescribe. 

Art. 9. No person shall be eligible to a seat in the Senate, until he 
has arrived at the age of twenty -five years ; nor in the House of Rep- 
resentatives, until he has arrived at the age of twenty-one years. He 
shall be a citizen of the state, and shall have resided in the same twelve 
months, and six months within the precinct, or district, for which he 
is elect, immediately preceding his election. 

Art, 10. Every male inhalDitant of the age of twenty-one years, 
who shall be a citizen of the state, and have resided for the last six 
months immediately preceding the day of the election within the pre- 
cinct, or district, shall enjoy the right of an elector. 

Art. 11. The Senate at its meeting shall elect a President, pro tem. 
and the House of Representatives shall elect its Speaker. Each House 
shall elect its own officers — be judges of the qualifications of, and elec- 
tions of its members. 

Alt. 12. Efch House may determine the rules of its proceedings, pun- 
ish its members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of 
two-thitds expel a member, but not a second time for the same offence; 
and shall have all other powers necessary for the Legislature of the 
state. 

Art. 13. Senators and Representatives shall in all cases, except trea- 
son, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during 
the session of the Legislature, and going to and returning from the 
same. 

Art. 14. Each House may punish by imprisonment any person not 
a member, who shall be guilty of any disrespect to the House, by any 
disorderly or contentious behavior in their presence ; provided that such 
imprisonment shall not be for a longer time than thirty days. 

Art. 15. Bills may originate in either House, but may be altered, 
amended and rejected by the other. 



200 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Art. 16. Every Bill shall be read on three different days, and signed 
by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, befcre it becomes a law, except the public safety shall be in 
danger by delay. 

Art. 17. After a Bill has been rejected, no bill containing the same 
substance, shall be passed into a law during that session. 

Art. 18. The st>le of the laws of this state shall be — ' Be it enacted 
by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Texas.' 

Art. 19. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and 
publish them, except such parts as the welfare of the state may require 
to be kept secret : and the yeas and nays of the members in any ques- 
tion, shall, at the request of one-fourth of the members present, be en- 
tered on the journal. 

Art. 20. The Legislature shall have power to establish, from time to 
time, the salaries of all the officers of the state, and to regulate the 
compensation of its own members. 

Art. 21. The doors of each House, and Committee of the Whole, 
shall be kept open, unless the business before them requires secrecy. 

Art. 22. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in pursu- 
ance of appropriations made by law. 

Art. 23. No person who hath been, or hereafter may be, a collector 
or holder of public money, shall have a seat in either House of the 
Legislature of the State, until such person shall have accounted for, and 
paid into the treasury all sums for which he may be liable. 

Art. 24. No Judge of any Court of Law or Equity, Secretary of 
State, Attorney General, Register Clerk of any Court of Record, or 
person holding any office under the authority of the Mexican United 
States, shall have a seat in the Legislature of this State — hold more 
than one lucrative office at one and the same time ; provided that no 
appointment in the militia, or to the office of .Justice of the peace so 
long as no salary is attached thereto, shall be considered as a lucrative 
office. 

Art. 25. If any member of the legislature is appointed and elected to, 
and accept any other office than that of Justice of the Peace. Trustee 
of a literary society, or commission in the militia, such appointment and 
acceptance shall be a vacation of his seat in the Legislature : and no 
member thereof shall be eligible to hold any office created by the Legis- 
lature, during the term of his service as a member. 

Art. 26. Any member of either house of the Legislature, shall have 
liberty to dissent from, and protest against any act or resolution, which 
he may think injurious to the public, or to any individual; and have the 
reasons of his dissent entered on the journal. 

Art. 27. All lands in this state, liable to taxation, held by any grant, 
concession, colonization law, or settlement rights, shall be taxed accord- 
ing to their valuation. 

Art. 28. The right of suffrage shall not be exercised, by any person 
of insane mind, or who shall be a pauper or supported by public charity ; 
nor by any non-commissioned officer, soldier, seaman or marine, in the 
service of the United Mexican States ; nor by any person convicted of 
an infamous offence. 



SECESSIONAL CONSTITUTION. 201 

Art. 29. The Legislature shall have power, to establish such a sys- 
tem of internal improvements, as they may think proper. 

Art. 30. No bank, nor banking institution, nor office of discount and 
deposit, nor any otlier moneyed corporation nor banking establishment, 
shall ever exist during the continuance of the present constitution. 

Art. 31. All lands within the Umits of Texas, at this date vacant, or 
not held agreeable to law, or to be located under genuine and bona-fide 
grants, now issued and received by the grantee or grantees, or otherwise 
provided for by this Constitution, shall belong to and constitute a fund 
for the state, and be subject to the disposal of the Legislature; provided 
that nothing contained in this article, shall be so construed as to prejudice 
the rights of the citizens, colonists, or settlers, who hold, or are entitled 
to acquire under this constitution, lands by deed, grant, concession or 
settlement right. 

Art. 37. The Legislature shall have power to enact laws, to impose 
taxes and collect moneys for the use of the state : but no currency shall 
ever be made lawful tender, except gold, silver, and copper coin. 

Judicial Department. 

Art. 1. The judicial power shall be vested in a Supreme and Superior 
Court. 

Art. 2. The state of Texas shall be divided in three judicial districts, 
in each of which there shall be appointed a district Judge. 

Art. 3. The said district Judges shall compose the Supreme Court — 
a majority of whom shall form a quorum. The said Judges shall hold 
their Courts as district Judges — of the Supreme Court at the time 
and place prescribed by law. 

Art. 4. The Legislature shall create and establish such Superior 
Courts, as may be convenient for the administration of justice. 

Art. 5. The Judges of the Districts and Superior Courts, who shall 
be elected at the first session of the Legislature, shall hold their offices 
for the term of three years, eligible to re-election, and their successors in 
office, shall hold their office for the term of six years — eligible to re- 
election by the Legislature every six years. 

Art. 6. The Judges, by virtue of their office, shall be conservators of 
the peace. Throughout the state of Texas, all prosecutions shall be car- 
ried on, in the name and by the authority of the state of Texas, and con- 
clude against the peace and dignity of the state. 

Art. 7 There shall be an Attorney General for the state ; and as 
many prosecuting Attorneys as shall hereafter be found necessary. 
Their duties, salaries, perquisities and terms of service, shall be deter- 
mined by law. 

Art. 8. The Clerks of the District and Superior Courts shall be ap- 
pointed by the Judge of the respective Courts. 

Art. 9. The existing laws of the state of Coahuila and Texas, when 
this Constitution goes into effect, shall continue in force, until altered 
or abolished by the Legislature ; provided, however, that the Legisla- 
ture shall never adopt any system or code of laws, by general reference 
to said system or code — but in all cases shall specify the several provi- 
sions of the laws it njay enact. 



202 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Art. 10. The Judges of the District and Superior Courts, shall receive 
fixed and adequate salaries, which shall be established by law. 

Art. 11. The Judges may be removed from office, by the concurrent 
vote of both Houses of the Legislature ; but two-thirds of the members 
present must concur in such vote, and the causes of such removal. 
Whoever the Legislature may be about to prosecute, shall receive notice 
thereof, accompanied with a copy of the causes alleged for his removal, 
thirty days before the day on which either House of the Legislature 
shall sit therefor. 

Art 12. The Judges may also be removed by impeachmenf. 

Art. 13. The power of impeachment shall be vested in the House of 
Representatives. 

Art. 14. All impeachments shall be tried in the Senate, when sitting 
for that purpose. The members shall be upon oath ; and no person 
shall be convicted, without two-thirds of the members present. 

Art. 15. The Governor and all civil officers shall be Uable to impeach- 
ment for all misdemeanors in office ; but judgment in such cases shall 
not extend further than removal from office, and disqualification to hold 
any office of honor, trust or profit in this state. But the party, never- 
theless, shall be liable and subject to indictment, trial, and punishment, 
according to law. 

Art. 1 6. The Judges of the District and Superior Courts, and the 
Attorney General, shall be at least seventy-five years of age, and shall 
be learned in the law. 

Art. 17. The interpretation of this Constitution and the laws of this 
state, shall belong exclusively to the judiciary. 

Art. 18. Alcaldes, Commissaries, and Syndicks, shall be elected by 
the people. Their duties, jurisdictions, and numbers, shall be deter- 
mined by law. 

Art. 19. The Legislature is authorized to increase the number of the 
judicial districts and district Judges, whenever the necessities of the 
country may require it. 

Executive Department, 

Art. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a Chief Magistrate, 
who shall be styled ' The Governor of Texas.' 

Art. 2. The Governor shall be elected by the qualifiod electors, at the 
time of choosing Representatives for the Legislature. He shall hold 
his office for the term of two years, from the time of his installation, and 
until a successor be duly appointed and qualified ; but he shall not be 
eligible to office for more than four years, in any time of six years. 
He shall be a citizen of the United States of Mexico ; shall be at least 
twenty-seven years of age ; and shall have resided in Texas at least 
three years next preceding his election. 

Art. 3. The returns of every election for Governor and Lieutenant 
Governor, shall be sealed and transmitted to the President of the Senate 
pro tern., who shall open and publish them in presence of both Houses 
of the Legislature. The person having the highest number of votes 
shall be Governor. Should two, or more, have been candidates for the 
office, and two or more persons be equal — and highest in number-— 
one of those who are equal and highest, shall be chosen GQvernor, by 



SECESSTONAL CONSTITUTION. 203 

joint ballot of both Houses : and in like manner shall the Lieutenant 
Governor be chosen. 

x\rt. 4. The Governor shall at stated times receive for his services a 
compensation, which shall neither be increased nor reduced during the 
time for which he shall have been elected. 

Art. 5. The Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief of the militia of 
this State — except when they shall be called into thcservice of the Mexi- 
can United States ; but he shall not command personally in the lield, ex- 
cept he shall be advised so to do by a resolution of the Legislature : shall 
take care that the constitution of this state, the constitution acts, and the 
constitution of the Mexican United States, and laws are faithfully exe- 
cuted ; shall have power to convene the Legislature every session, when 
in his opinion the interests of the State may require it ; to grant re- 
prieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment ; to conduct all 
correspondence with other states, and with the General Government — 
and during the recess of the Legislature, to fill pro tempore until the 
end of the next succeeding session — or of the Executive and Senate 
to fill permanently. 

Art. 6. Every Bill which shall have passed both Houses of the Le- 
gislature, shall be presented to the Governor. If he approve, he shall 
sign it ; but if not, he shall return it with his objections to the House 
in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at 
large upon the Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such recon- 
sideration, a majority of the whole number elected to that House shall 
agree to pass the bill, it shall with the objections be sent to the other 
House, by whom it shall likewise be reconsidered : if approved by a 
majority of the whole number elected to that House, it shall become a 
law : but in such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined 
by 3^eas and noes, and the names of the members voting for or against 
the bill shall be entered upon the Journal of each House respectively, 
if any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within five days, Sun- 
days excepted, after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall 
•become a law, in like manner as if he had signed it ; unless the Legis- 
lature by its adjournment, prevent it return, in which case it shall not 
become a law. 

Art. 7. Every order, resolution or vote to which the concurrence of 
lioth Houses may be necessary, except on questions of adjournment, 
shall be presented to the Governor — and before it shall take effect, be 
af^roved by him ; or being disapproved, shall be repassed by both 
Houses, according to tlie rules and limitations prescribed in case of 
a hili 

Art 8. Tliere shall be a Lieutenant Governor, who shall be elected 
at the same time, and shall possess the same qualifications as the Gov- 
ernor, The electors shall designate for whom they vote as Governor, 
and for whom as Lieutenant Governor. 

Art. 9. The Lieutenant Governor, shall Ex-Officio be President of 
the Senate, and when there is an equal division in the Senate, shall 
give the casting vote, and also in joint voting in both Houses. 

Art. 10. When the office of Governor shall become vacant by death, 
resignation, absence from the state, removal from office, refusal to 



204 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

qualify, impeachment o/ otherwise, the Lieutenant Governor — or in 
case of like disability on his part — the President of the Senate, pro 
tem. — or if there be no President of the Senate pro tem. the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives shall possess all the powers, and dis- 
charge all the duties of Governor; and shall receive for his services the 
like compensation to the end of the term, or until the disability of the Gov- 
ernor be removed : provided, that should the office of Governor be vacant 
within ten months from the beginning of the term, the person exercising 
the powersof Governor for the time being, shall as soon a smay be,cause an 
election to be held, to fill such vacancy, giving three months notice thereof. 

Art. 11. There shall be a Secretary of State appointed by the Gov- 
ernor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. He shall hold his 
office three years, and shall keep a register of all official acts and pro- 
ceedings of the Governor, and perform such duties as may be enjoined 
on him by law. He shall as soon as may be, procure and keep a seal 
of State, with such emblems and devices as shall be directed by law. 

Art. 12. A State Treasurer shall be elected by joint vote of both 
Houses ; who shall also discharge the duties of Auditors, until otherwise 
provided by law. 

Art. 13. There shall be an Ayuntamiento in each municipality. 
The power and duties of the Ayuntamientos — the number of mem- 
bers who are to compose them — and the mode of their elections shall 
be prescribed by law. 

Art. 14. All commissions shall be in the name of the State of Texas ; 
be sealed with the State Seal, and signed by the Governor ; and attested 
by the Secretary of State. Sheriffs and Coroners, shall be elected every 
two years by the qualified electors at the time and place of choosing 
Representatives. Their duties shall be regulated by law, and they shall 
hold their offices for two years, and until a successor be duly appointed 
and quaUfied, unless sooner removed for misconduct in office. 

Art. 15. The Governor shall nominate and appoint, with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, all officers whose offices are established by 
this constitution, and whose appointments are not herein otherwise pro- 
vided for. provided, however, that the Legislature shall have a right to 
prescribe the mode of appointment of all officers to be established by law. 

Schedule. 

Art. 1. The State of Texas, shall include all the country formerly 
known as the Province of Texas. 

Art. 2. That no inconvenience may arise in our separation from Coa- 
huila, it is declared that all rights, actions, prosecutions and contracts, 
shall continue as if no change had taken place ; except cases provided 
for in the body of this constitution. 

Art. 3. All dues, fines, penalties, escheats and forfeitures accruing io 
the State of Coabuila and Texas, shall be collected in the name, and 
for the use of the State of Texas. All bonds for the performance of 
duties, shall be passed over to the first Governor of the State of Texas, 
and his successor in office, for the use and benefit of the parties interested. 

Art. 4. The authorities of the State of Coahuila and Texas, that fill 
their offices within the limits of Texas, shall continue in the execution 
of their respective duties, until superseded under this constitution. 



SECESSIONAL CONSTITUTION. 206 

Art. 5. The Governor shall make use of his private seal, until a 
Seal of State shall be provided. 

Art. 6. Until the first enumeration as provided for by this constitu- 
tion, the appointment of Representatives to the Legislature, shall be 
regulated by a resolution adopted by this Convention. 

Art. 7. AUofficers, or persons elected or appointed to any office, or 
place of trust, profit, or honor in this State, before entering upon the 
duties of their office, or station, shall take the following oath : I, A. B., 
do solemnly swear, that I will support the Constitution of the United 
Mexican States — the Constitution act, and the Constitution of this 
State ; and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of accor- 
ding to the best of my abilities : — so help 7ne God! 

Art. S. The election of Senators and Representatives to the General 
Corfgress, shall take place agreeably to the provisions of the Federal 
Constitution of the United Mexican Statefs ; and laws to that effect 
shall be passed by the Legislature. 

Art. 9. Whenever a majority of both Houses of the Legislature 
may deem it necessary to amend this constitution, they shall recommend 
to the electors, at the next election of members of the Legislature, to 
vote for, or against a convention : and if it shall appear that a majority 
of all the electors of the State, voting for the members of the Legisla- 
ture, shall have voted for a Convention, the Legislature shall at the next 
session call a Convention, to consist of at least as many members as 
there may be in the Legislature, to be elected in the same place and in 
like manner as prescribed by law for the election of members of that 
body. 

Art. 10. Until the first enumeration shall be made, as directed by this 
constitution, the Senatorial Districts shall be composed of the following 
precincts : Bexar, one Senator ; San Patricia, Refugio, Galiod, and 
Victoria, one Senator ; Gonzales, Bastrop, and Alfred, one Senator; Lo- 
vicia, Matagorda, and Santianna, one Senator ; Victoria, and Bolivar, 
one Senator ; San Phillippe, one Senator ; Magnolia, and San Jacinto, 
west side, and precincts of San Jacinto, east side, one Senator; Liberty, 
and Laa Bayou, one Senator ; Ayish, and Snow, one Senator ; Tina- 
haw, and Sabine, one Senator. 

Art. 11. The number of Representatives, that each of the precincts 
above enumerated shall have in the first Legislature, shall be deter- 
mined by the votes given in at the first election ; on the basis of one 
Representative for every hundred voters, without counting fractions un- 
der one hundred ; provided, that each precinct shall have one Represen- 
tative, whatever may be the number of its voters. After the votes are 
all taken, and the polls closed, the Judge of the election shall declare 
the person who has received the highest number of votes for Repre- 
sentative, to be duly elected, agreeably to the basis above mentioned ; and 
shall issue certificates to such person accordingly. In case of a tie 
between two or more, it shall be decided by lot by the Judges. 

Art. 13. All powers or grants of powers, rights, privileges and immu- 
nities, not expressly given or granted by this Constitution, are reserved 
to, and shall remain with the people of the State ; and can only he dis- 
solved or delegated, by amendment to this Constitution. 

S 



206 HISTORY OF TEXAS^ 

PETITIONS. 
To make way for this constitution, a petition was pre- 
pared by the Convention, in which they assigned many 
reasons why it should be granted. A few of the leading 
ones noticed by us, will be sufficient at this time, to con- 
nect our chain of circumstances; always leaving the reader 
the freedom of his own conclusions, and upon republican 
principles to make just such use of them as he shall think 
proper. 
To the Sovereign General Congress of the Republic oj 

Mexico. 

The inhabitants of aZZ Texas, met in General Convention, 
at the Town of San Felipe de Austin, by means of dele- 
gates, for the purpose of maldng known their wants to the 
government, most respectfully represent, that they desire 
the separation of Texas from Coahuila; believing such 
separation indispensable to their mutual happiness and 
prosperity; and that ultimately, such division would pro- 
duce the most happy results to the Mexican Republic. 

Coahuila being so far distant from the population of 
Texas, and so widely variant from it in interests, the rights 
and wants of the people of Texas cannot be properly pro- 
tected and provided for, under the present organization, — 
admitting the several Departments of the Government of 
the State to be prompted by the utmost purity of intention, 
in their efforts for the administration of justice. 

Coahuila and Texas are dissimilar in soil, climate and 
productions, in common interests, and partly in population. 
The representatives of the former are numerous, and those 
of the latter few; in consequence ofwhich, any law passed 
peculiarly adapted for the benefit of Texas, has only to he 
the effect of a generous courtesy. Laws happily construc- 
ted for the benefit of Coahuila, and conducive to its best 
interests, might be ruinous to Texas; such are the conflict- 
ing interests of the two countries : for instance, the uncon- 
stitutional law, prohibiting any but native Mexicans from 
retailing merchandize, in those places not inhabited by 
American colonists — to the exclusion of naturalized citi- 
zens from participation in that employment. 



PETITIONS. 207 

Another reason, which should interest the sympathies of 
the Republic, and enlist the aid of government, in favor of 
Texas, is its locality, being adjoining the territory of a 
powerful nation, whose established policy towards the 
aborigines has a tendency to flood Texas with Indian emi- 
grants of a character dangerous in the extreme. The wide 
extent of wilderness, forming a natural boundary between 
Texas. and Coahuila, places an indispensable barrier in the 
way of Coahuila's extending the efficient means of defence 
she might wish. 

This circumstance alone demands that all the energies 
of Texas should be embodied, to prevent that calamity 
which threatens this favored country; and which nothing 
short of a well regulated government of a free, unshackled, 
and independent State can provide against. 

Be it known, therefore, that we, the people of Texas, 
view with regret and concern, the present unfortunate 
situation of the North American Tribes of Indians residing 
in Texas, and much deplore the transactions which have oc- 
casioned it. 

It is a well known fact, that the Cherokees claim by way 
of grant, a tract»of land situated about thirty miles to the 
northwest of Nacogdoches ; which claim they have been 
told, is worth about as much as the paper.it is written on. 
The Shawnees also: — to say nothing of those other tribes, 
which have settled in the country — and have been prom- 
ised possessions. The promise is still protracted. 

When the Indian (inclined as he is to believe that a 
promise made, eventually must be fuliilled,) becomes too 
frequently the dupe of craftiness and oppression, he natu- 
rally becomes discontented, unfriendly and hostile; and in 
the present instance might be made more troublesome to 
us, than those tribes which no concessions will mollify! 

The Indians' repeated req-west to obtain their rights, are 
unattended to; because an accredited agent of the govern- 
ment has been illegally suspended, by a military officer of 
the last dynasty, who, in continuance of his system of de- 
ception and conciliation, and with a view to enlist their 
aid, declared to the Cherokees, (at the time we began to 
evince a disposition of throwing from our necks the insup^ 



208 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

portable weight of military oppression,) — 'The Americans 
grasping for land, intend making the attempt of driving all 
my countrymen from this State ; and an extirpation of you 
all will soon follow.' 

But the conflict at an end — we explained to them the 
true causes which impelled us to arms^ and they, seeing 
a large number of our native Mexican fellow citizens had 
taken up arms in our behalf, seemingly became convinced, 
that we fought for justice to ourselves, and with respect 
for the rights of every Indian. 

However, unfortunately — just at this time, and while 
they wore being told, the Government would put them in 
possession of their lands, — some of our fellow citizens, 
without autJiority, ran off, and concluded in a survey, part 
of the Cherokee claim or grant; consequently creating, by 
such an act, a distrustful disposition on the part of those 
Indians — in conjunction with all those unlawful acts, so re- 
peatedly committed on the poor confiding Indians of Texas, 
who are thus made to believe that we are actuated by the 
same spirit as their former oppressors. Therefore, do they 
credit any gross misrepresentation made to them, giving 
to former apprehensions the guise of truth; and they are 
now losing past confidence, in all individual protestations 
or advice: like the wrecked bark, which having crossed 
a v/ide expanse of ocean, is in sight of her destined port, 
but without the friendly sails that propelled her, and with- 
out any visible aid or probable chance of assistance! Un- 
der these Indian circumstances alone, we most respectfully 
solicit and entreat your most Honorable Body, to consider 
that as a state, we would be enabled to take such active 
measures in their behalf, as would convince them, that they 
could not with impunity be unlawfully or unjustly intruded 
upon; humbly trusting, that we could do such justice to 
their wishes in relation to lantls, as could not fail to assure 
them of our friendship and protection; — besides, enlisting 
those North American Tribes of Indians among us, in fa- 
vor of the state and general Government, by securing 
to them a permanence of situation, and enrolling them as 
brother-citizens of that confederacy, which they so much 
respect and regard! For ihe above reasons and many 



PETITIONS. 209 

others, which the General Congress will readily conceive, 
and in viewof the decree of the 7th of May, 1824, allow- 
ing the people of Texas, so soon as their situation would 
permit, to appear as a distinct state, to report to Congress 
for their resolution, — also, in connexion with the 11th 
section of the Federal Constitution, guarantying them a 
representative in Congress, whatever may be their popu- 
lation; and considering duly, the benefits that would result, 
both to Texas and to the nation, we entertain no doubts of 
the favorable reception of this petition. The people of 
Texas present the strongest assurances of their patriotic 
attachment to the Constitution, and to the Republic — 
pledging all and every interest in life, for the support of 
their declaration ! 

Therefore, they most respectfully petition, — that that 
part of the Mexican Republic, known by the name of Tcx- 
as, shall become a separate state of the confederacy — to 
be placed upon an equal footing with any of the states of 
the Union. 

Among the TWfXT??/ petitions which accompanied the above, 
there was one which deserves particular attention, con- 
cerning the Tariff; as partly by the General Government's 
neglect on that head, and particularly by the mercantile 
speculations on that subject, the Texasians' difRculties 
with the officers of General Government have ever taken 
their rise; until the land peculation of March 1835, which 
shall be noticed by us presently. 

To the General Congress, &lc. — The inhabitants of 
Texas, and so forth, — respectfully represent, that the du- 
ties on articles of necessity to the inhabitants, which are 
not and cannot be manufactured in Texas for several years 
to come, are so high as to be equivalent to a total prohibi- 
tion : that many other articles which are prohibited by the 
Tariff, are of the first necessity to the settlers of Texas. 
And as the people, of this section of the Republic, are yet 
almost without resources, and are generally farmers who 
make their support by cultivating the land, and have no 
manufacturing establishments yet erected within the limits 
of Texas; they respectfully petition the General Govern- 
ment, to grant for three years the privilege of introducing, 
s2 



210 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

free of duty, such articles as are indispensable to the pros- 
perity of Texas. Among which, this Convention beg leave 
to enumerate the following, to wit: Provisions, Iron and 
Steel, Machinery, Farming Utensils, Tools of the various 
Mechanic Arts, Hard-ware and Hollow-ware, Nails, Wag- 
gons and Carts, Cotton Bagging and Bale rope, coarse 
Cotton Goods and Clothing, Shoes and Hats, Household 
and Kitchen Furniture, Tobacco for chewing in small 
quantities, Powder, Lead and Shot, Medicines, Books and 
Stationery. The foregoing articles include the principal 
imports made use of, and wanted by the inhabitants of 
Texas. Many of them are prohibited, and on those which 
are allov/ed to be introduced, the duties are so high that 
they amount to a prohibition. The trade to Texas is small, 
afnd the resources limited ; but, if fostered by a liberal poli- 
cy on the part of the General Government, it will, in a 
few years, yield a revenue of no small importance.— 
Signed, &c. 

AUSTIN'S CORRESPONDENCE. 

Colonel Stephen F. Austin, who had been for many 
years the Colonists' representative in the General Con- 
gress, was chosen in the spring of 1833, by a large ma- 
jority, to represent the country again on this momentoufj 
occasion ; although there had been no little opposition mad<5 
to his election, by the same forty or fifty would-be great men 
in Texas — and who are so, — though upon a scale some- 
what different from that greatness they acquired in the 
United States of the North, before their names became so 
well known in Mexico. 

That the reader may be made acquainted with Colonel 
Austin's character in a few words, — he was a man, take 
him all in all, (politically speaking) for the well-being of 
Texas, that but few new countries, in their annals of set 
tling, can produce a parallel! No matter for the accusation 
of this Texian Optimacy, who said, « that he was too much 
of a Mexican, to enforce the demands of the colonists at 
this time with that energy they required.' 

But his own words verbatim transmitted from the prison 
of the Ocordado, city of Mexico, August 25, 1834, will, it 



AUSTIN'S CORRESPONDENCE. 211 

is supposed, be the best comment on those general matters 
necessary to be known, by those who feel interested in the 
whys and wherefores of a Texas commotion. 

" Dear Sir: — I write this more for the purpose of inform- 
ing you, that I am in the land of the living, than to com- 
municate any thing agreeable as to my situation. I pre- 
sume you are already informed that I arrived in this city 
on the 13th of February last, and was shut up in one of 
the dungeons of the inquisition,- where I remained three 
months in close confinement — Incommunicado — that is, 
locked up day and night, with very little light except can- 
dles, and not allowed to speak, or communicate with any 
one, nor to have books, pen, ink, or paper. The President 
General Santa Anna put me in communication soon after 
he resumed the Government in May. , The treatment I 
received from the Vice President, Gomez Farias, was in 
the highest degree rigid, and marked throughout by strong 
personal feeling; which I attribute in part to an interview 
which I had with him on the first of October, in which he was 
highly offended with me, because I stated that the affairs 
of Texas required the prompt attention of Government; 
for the people there had taken the position, that if the evils 
which threatened that country with ruin, were not reme- 
died by the Government, the 'people of Texas would reme- 
dy them of themselves, without waiting any longer, on the 
ground that self-preservation rendered such a step neces- 
sary — and would justify it! The Vice President constru- 
ed this into a threat — and personal insult* I wrote the 
letter of 2d October (which I regret) to the Ayuntamien- 
to, — persevered in getting the remedies reconciled to the 
Vice President, and I parted with him on the tenth of De- 
cember in harmony, and with the best of feelings and the 
most sincere respect. The Ayuntamiento of Bexar chan- 
ged the face of things, and revived the passions of the Vice 
President, by sending to him my unfortunate letter of 2d. 
October, which said for the worst prepare .^" 

"Individuals who were unfriendly to me, because I op- 
posed a territory for Texas, — and others who were un- 
friendly to all foreigners, improved the opportunity to in- 
flame the mind of the Vice President and his ministers 



213 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

against me ; so that on my return to the city of Mexico, 
as a prisoner, he was the most violent and bitter enemy I 
had. I believe him to be an honest man, and a true fede- 
ral democratic republican, in principle; but he believed, 
or was misled by others to believe, that the political situa- 
tion of Mexico required something like a Robespierre's sys- 
tem, or reign of terror. No one was executed, but hun- 
dreds were banished and imprisoned. Whether this sys- 
tem was the result of the Vice President's own inclinations, 
or whether he was led into it by his counsellors and friends, 

I cannot say. Some think that it was all his own policy, and 
ethers that he was forced into it contrary to his wish, by 
tlie power of circumstances, and the excitement of the day. 
At any rate his administration was unfortunate for the na- 
tion, and for the federal party; for no one who has any 
sense of justice or of common humanity, can approve of 
an illegal, unconstitutional and arbitrary system of ban- 
ishment and imprisonment. 

"The religious prejudices of the people were alarmed 
by the measures of that administration to a great degree: 
hence the reaction which is now operating all over the na- 
tion, and which some think will shake the Federal system; 
though I am not of this opinion, for I do not believe that 
the President Santa Anna has designed' to change the sys- 
tem, or to do any thing more than to get together a con- 
gress in January next, with tlie character and power of a 
national convention, freely elected by the people, in or- 
der to re-establish or review the constitution, which has 
teen so dreadfully outraged by all parties, that none res- 
pect it. 

" But to return to my own affairs, which I presume are 
m.uch more interesting to you, than the political quarrels 
of this Republic. I remained in the inquisition until the 
12th of June, when the military tribunal to whom my case 
was referred, decided that they had no jurisdiction over it; 
and I was removed to this prison, and my case delivered 
over to a civil tribunal, or jour de litras, in whose hands 

II slept until the 12th of August — when he also decided 
that he had no jurisdiction over it: and it was then sent 
to the federal district Judge, who soon despatched it, by 



AUSTIN'S CORRESPONDENCE. 213 

deciding that he had no jurisdiction over it, as I did not 
reside in his district. The matter was then sent to the 
Supreme Court of the United Mexican States, in order for 
them to decide what court or tribunal ought to try me ; and 
there the case rests at present. So that after eight months, 
I do not know as yet, what court is to investigate my case. 
I have long since requested to be delivered to the authori- 
ties of the State of Coahuila and Texas^; and I presume I 
shall finally be sent to the district court (federal Judge) of 
that state. The President Santa Anna is friendly to Tex- 
as, and to me, — of this I have no doubt — would have set 
me at liberty long since, and in fact issued an order to 
that effect in June, had not some statements arrived about 
that time, from the State Government of Coahuila and 
Texas against me, which I understand have contributed 
mainly to keep me in prison so long. It is said, the report 
of the State Government on the subject, is founded solely 
on the statements of some influential persons who live in 
Texas- Who those persons are I know not. It is affirm- 
ed that they are North Americans by birth ; and I am told 
that if I am not imprisoned for life, and totally ruined in 
property and reputation, it will not be for the want of^ ex- 
ertions and industry on the part of some of my country- 
men, who. live in Texas. Whether all this be true or not, 
I know I am unwilling to believe it. I am also told, that 
no efforts were left untried during the last winter and spring, 
to prejudice the members of the legislature and state gov- 
ernment against me at Monclova. I cannot believe these 
things. I wish you to inquire of Oliver Jones, (then re- 
presentative for the Texasians in the state legislature;) he 
is an honorable man, — and I shall rely fully on what he 
says about them. 

^^ Can it be possible that any of those men who were 
opposed to my appointment, as the public agent to come 
to Mexico, on the ground that I would be too passive and 
humble, and not display independence, firmness, and so 
forth — and also that I was opposed to a State, therefore, 
would not obey the instructions, or regard the wishes of 
the people, as expressed by the Convention &c.', &c. — I 
repeat it, ean it he possible that such men can be so politi- 



214 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

cally blind, as not to foresee without the interposition of a 
miracle in their favor, equal at least to that which I had 
the honor to conduct from Matamoros in 1832, their coun- 
try will be ruined by those omnifarious measures of reck- 
lessness pursued? If so, I ask in the name of God, how 
are they to be benefited by its destruction? 

"Now what I cannot understand, is, that these same 
men should attack me, who at that time were very violent 
political fanatics in favor of a State, and of high minded 
measures with the government, and who abused and op- 
posed rae, because I was too mild, too passive, too lukew^arm 
— the same men who w^ere the first, as they themselves say, 
to create an excitement in favor of separating Texas from 
Coahuil|i, and who contributed very much to involve me, 
and my friends — simple farmers, in all this difficulty, and 
the labyrinth I am now entangled in, by compelling me, 
as it were, to yield to public opinion of that time, and 
which public opinion was jirst excited by these men. 

" The fact is, excitement in the Colony, at that time in 
favor of the state, placed me in the alternative of yielding 
to them, — or of opposing them by force, by means of 
party divisions, — or of leaving the country. I was dis- 
posed to adopt the first or the last of these alternatives, 
rather than the other, — of organizing a party, or creating 
party divisions in the colonies. 

"That these same men should now attack me, as it is 
said they have done, because I faithfully, fearlessly and 
firmly, represented the wishes of the convention and of my 
constituents — as these same men said those wishes were, 
when I left there, — r-instead of concealing or counteracting 
those washes, as these same men said I would do — ^That 
these same men should now try to ruin me, and perpetuate 
my imprisonment, — and should rejoice and exult at my 
sufferings, is what I cannot understand, and am unwilling 
to believe. For it would be the same as to belive, that 
all their show and display of zeal for the public good — 
their pretended patriotism, had no other definite object, but 
to create confusion, out of which they hoped to derive some 
hcncjit, or nt least to involve me in difficulty and total ruin ; 
(by nnd by wo will shov/ that object, and the benefits they 



AUSTIN'S CORRESPONDENCE. 215 

derived from it.) This I cannot believe : allliough such 
a thi«g was told me before I left the Colony, < that no mat- 
ter what I did, or how I acted, some persons there, whom 
I had too much befriended, would seek my ruin if they 
could.' I am unwilling to believe that such baseness ex- 
ists in human nf.turel 

<' That men shouid err in politics, become convinced of 
their error, and change their opinion is a common and 
natural thing, and amounts to nothing at all except a mere 
error in judgment; which v/e are all liable to, and have 
committed during our lives. But there is a vast difference 
between an honest error in Judgment or opinion — an 
honest change of opinion -^and a secret or malicious de- 
sign lo plot or ruin another, by weaving a political net 
around him for that express purpose. Neither public good nor 
patriotism can have any influence in such a design: nought 
but a corrupt heart would or could have any hand in such 
a base plot. Again I say, I am unwilling to believe that 
any j^erson, or pei"sons in Texas, vvith the talents, and with 
the knowledge, of their situation, either in a moral or po- 
Jilical point of view, can be influenced by such impolitic, 
<iot to say low and degrading motives. 

<' However, time will show. There is an investigating 
and discriminating power in the public eye, that soon or 
iate will penetrate the most complicated mysteries, and 
arrive at the truth: and public opinion will then award 
justice where it is due. To that eye and that opinion, I 
am ready and willing to submit my actions, or my reputa- 
tion, or my life. In common with my friends, I possibly 
may have committed the error, which is often committed 
in aU countries, of paying more attention to popular 
excitements than they deserved. Both myself and my 
friends, were precipitated into the measures of the Con- 
vention by the circumstances of the times. Their object, 
and their only object, was the public good of Texas, and 
of the Mexican Republic; and not the ruin of this, that, or 
the other individual for their own private ends. They have 
not made charges before the Government, or before the 
public against any one, on account of his past transactions. 
They have not attempted to reach the ears of Government^ 



^16 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

by entering the baok door of the Government house, 
and infusing suspicion and poison into the minds of the 
high authorities, for the purpose of perpetrating the impris- 
onment of a fellow citizen. They have not attempted to 
shuffle off any of the responsibility upon the shoulders of 
others. Their conduct has been open, public, frank, can- 
did, and marked by good faith; as all men's ought to be, 
who pretend to labor for the public good. 

"If Stephen F. Austin and his friends have committed 
any errors, they were honest ones j •and they were free 
and frank to confess them, without attempting to shake 
them off upon their form.er companions. In short their 
object was the public good of Texas, and of Mexico- they 
acted in good faith in the whole matter; therefore their 
object has been accomplished. The Government have 
remedied the evils complained of in Texas, and which 
thi.-eatened it v/ith ruin; and those who acted last year in 
good faith and with pure intentions of separating from 
Coahuila, are now opposed to it; because the reasons 
which made a separation necessar}^ no longer exist. 

" Stephen F. Austin's motto alv/ays has been, fidelity 
to Mexico, opposition to violent men or measures. That 
motto will continue to be the basis of his political faith, and 
the rule of his actions. He also ow^es duties to simple 
hearted citizens of his Colony and to Texas, which he has 
never shrunk from executing as far as he could. If proofs 
are needed to establish this fact, let them be sought in the 
last thirteen years, and they will be found. His present 
incarceration and persecutions will also bear him witness. 
At one time I am abused for being too Mexican — too 
much the friend of Mexicans — too confiding in them — 
opposed to the separation of Texas from Coahuila, and in 
favor of keeping it forever bound to the state of Coahuila 
and Texas. At another time I am abused for yielding 
to the popular opinion, and for representing that opinion 
in good faith; and truly, firmly, and fearlessly representing 
it, as it was my duty to do as an agent. I repeat it again 
and again, I cannot comprehend these matters. In my 
letter to the Ayuntamiento of Austin, from Montervey, 
date^ ITth January last, and in all my letters written 



AUSTIN'S CORRESPONDENCE. 217 

since my return to this city, I have earnestly requested 
the most prompt obedience ai^d submission to the authori- 
ties of the state and General Government: yea, that a pub- 
lic act of gratitude should be expressed by the people, for 
those remedies, that have been applied by the State and 
General Government, to the many evils that v/ere threat- 
ening Texas with ruin. Moreover I have never failed to 
advise the people of these Colonies to discountenance all 
violent or disorderly politicians or men,- especially all po- 
litical adventurers and fanatics! 

"I now repeat the same advice, and will add to it a 
rule, which if strictly followed, will be the means_of pre- 
serving peace and harmony in Texas, and of advancing its 
prosperity rapidly. Th-e rule is, to discountenance in tiie 
most unequivocal and efficient manner,, all persons who 
are in the habit of speaking or writing in violent or disre- 
spectful terms, or in the language of contempt or defiance 
of the Mexican people or authorities. This rule is a ne- 
cessary consequence of the motto before stated. I have 
no doubt that motto will be avowed and sustained by all 
my personal friends, and I hope by all the friends of Texas, 
of good order and of common sense. I earnestly recom- 
mend that it may be: it will become a sound and distin- 
guishing centre of union, and operate as the magic of a 
name often does^ by which unity is given to a party or a 
whole community. I do not v/ish to believe there is any 
anti-Mexican party in Texas: if there be, the adoption, by 
the people, of the motto and rule above stated, will soon 
detect and mark it, and render its members harmless • for 
there is so much honesty and sound sense in the mass of 
the people, that a revolutionist need only to be known to 
be put down. 

" I feaT the first pronouncement by the State Government 
made at Monclova, in June, against the President Santa 
Anna, has had a bad effect in Texas. It was a very pre- 
cipitate step, and has produced an answer from Saltillo 
quite in character; that is, a counter-pronouncement. I 
hope the authorities of Texas have paid no other attention 
to either of these pronouncements, or to any other. Know- 
ing perfectly, that the Mexicans have always renovated 

T 



218 HISTORY OF TEXAS, 

their internal system, without the aid or discomfiture of 
their American settlers, — let those settlers, I beg, by. their 
authorities, say that they recognize and obey the President 
of the Mexican states. General Antonio Lopez Santa 
Anna, until be is constitutionally deposed from that high 
station which he occupies, by the legal vote of the nation ; 
and those authorities recognize no other mode of deposing 
a President, except the one prescribed in the General 
Constitution of the Nation — which every citizen has sworn 
to obey; and assuredly they will respect that oath. 

"I again and again advise the people of Texas, to keep 
clear of the political family quarrels of the Republic, 
having every thing to lose and nothing to gain : a dead 
silence is the best possible course for Texas. The Presi- 
dent Santa Anna has been accused by his enemies of hav- 
ing turned Congress out of doors on the 13th of May, and 
of having trampled upon the national representation, and 
so forth. The whole question turns upon the construction 
of the 7th article of the General Constitution, which says, 
(■ that Congress shall close its sessions on the 15th day of 
April each year; but may extend its sessions for thirty 
days more,, if the two Houses think proper, or if the Presi- 
- dent requests it.' Now^ on the 15th day of April of this 
year, the sessions were closed as the above article pre- 
scribed ; and Congress decided that the sessions should be 
extended thirty days more (exclusive of the feasts or holy 
days,) as said article prescribes that they should do. The 
said thirty days expired, and congress attempted to continue 
the session beyond that time. Had they any constitutional 
power to do so? If they had not, was it or was it not the 
duty of the President, under his oath of office, to prevent 
Congress from doing any unconstitutional acts. The whole 
question turns upon these Constitutional points. It will 
be remembered that the judicial authorities have no power 
to annul an unconstitutional act of Congress ; and that the 
President is bound by his oath of office to prevent any un- 
constitutional act from being committed by any person, or 
by any authority. Should it be necessary for Congress to 
mQQi after the expiration of the thirty days the constitu- 
tion says, ai-ticle 110, clause 17 — and article 116, clause 



AUSTIN'S COREESPONDENCE. 219 

3 — they may be called in extra session, by the council 
of Government and the Executive,- and there is no other 
mode prescribed in the constitution for getting Congress to- 
gether, after the expiration of thirty days. I fear these 
things have not been rightly understood in Texas, and the 
people have been excited to take an unreasonable stand 
against the President. What they ought to have done, 
and ought to do in future, is to take no part in such matters, 
neither by yea nor by nay, nor by pro or con, — stidt to 
the constitution, and close their eyes and their ears against 
all kinds of plans and pronouncements; and against ail in- 
flammatory advice from all quarters, even from those of 
Monclova or Saltillo, — far less from those of the Interior. 
If Texas commits not hei-self, she is safe from all parties, 
as she has ever been. Santa Anna is friendl}^ to Texas, 
and to me : my personal and political friends have much 
cause to be grateful as yet, unto him! Among those who 
have befriended me in my misfortunes, I hope that my 
family and friends will never forget Don Victor Blanco, 
and his brother-in-law Don Ramon Musquez, of Bexar. 

" Show this to such of my friends as you may think 
proper. I wish them and all Texas, to adopt and firmly 
adhere to the motto and rule I have stated in this letter. 
I have been led into so much difficulty, and Texas has been 
so much jeopardized in its true and permanent interest, 
by inflammatory men — political fanatics, political adven- 
turers, would-be great men, vain talkers and visionary 
fools — that I begin to lose confidence in all persons ex- 
cept those who seek their living between the plow handles : 
and alas for them, they are too often sacrificed before they 
know it* The fact is, that public opinion has been dis- 
jointed, and led astray in all parts of Texas, since January 
1832. There are many there, who know how much 
wretchedness the political excitements have cost me, and 
how I dislike all inflammatory politicians. But I could 
not stem the current; it would have been worse than use- 
less; but now I hope the thing will be different. The 
farmers of Texas have been or ought to he alarmed, by the 
inflammatory events of the last three years — and adopt 
the motto I have always followed, and now recommend to 



220 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

all Texas — that is, to the -hoiiest and sound part of the 
people. As for the balance (would to God, there was no 
balance in the case ') that is, mere demagogues and politi- 
cal fanatics, they will disappear before sound public opinion, 
as the gnats and musketoes do before the rays of a bright 
and unclouded sun. The farmers must (or suffer, as all 
hangs upon them,) proclaim with one unanimous voice, 
Jidelity to Mexico, opposition to violent men or measures — 
and it will be peace and prosperity to Texas I" — Received 
September, 1834. 

PARTY ADDRESSES. 

The two factions which had arisen in the State Legis- 
lature of Coahuila and Texas, on that difference of opinion 
produced in the Republic, by the collision of the Federal 
President and Congress, had produced those pronounce- 
ments spoken of by Austin. Of course a state of perfect 
anarchy and confusion took place, for the time being, 
among the Coahuilaxanians. Those who had in July, 1834, 
proclaimed themselves in favor of Santa Anna's measures, 
threw themselves under the protection of the permanent 
army, and elected a commissioned officer thereof governor 
of the state — took possession of the congressional hall in 
Saltillo, and disannulled those decrees passed by the con- 
stitutional state congress from the 1st of Januar}^, 1833, 
to the above date. 

The other faction or party established themselves in 
Monclova, for the remainder of the session ; from whence 
they denounced the opposite faction or party, as unconsti- 
tutional : so that the people not knowing whom to gratify, 
or legitimately to obey, manifested more or less their in- 
difference to the acts of eithei", until the period had arriv- 
ed, designated by the state constitution, for the election of 
governor, viiie governor, senators, and deputies to the state 
congress, and other functionaa-ies. That period unfortu- 
nately expired, under the disputed authority of both gov- 
ernors. Such an event completely dissolved the constitu- 
ted authorities of the state, and iavolved her in lawless an- 
archy! On account of such proceedings, a large body of 
Coahuila's influential citizens met in council with the in- 



PARTY ADDRESSES. 221 

habitants of Bexar, from whence they issued the following 
address to their fellow citizens of Texas. 

"The disastrous events which ha-ve lately taken place, in 
the great Mexican nation, of which you are a part! and the 
deplorable and perilous situation in which the state is now 
placed, demand imperiously your exclusive and most seri- 
ous attention. ' The baleful and portentous spirit of revo- 
lution has torn the republic into pieces, and threatens 
in the most alarming manner the liberal and republican in- 
stitutions, which you have sworn to maintain. This spirit 
being suffocated for a short period, the friends of order and 
of liberty suffered themselves to be deceived for a moment, 
with the flattering hope of a happy futurity; but it has 
burst forth again with redoubled fury, in the city of Mex- 
ico, that inextinguishable volcano of revolutions, and has 
shaken the whole nation. It has broken into fragments 
and leveled to its foundation, the temple consecrated to 
its liberties, the Federal Constitution,- it has buried be- 
neath its ruins the legitimate authorities of almost all the 
states; and its disorganizing vibrations must be felt in a 
very short time to the remotest bounds of the republic: 
yet by none will its disastrous effects be felt more serious- 
ly, than by you the inhabitants of Texas. 

"The congress of the state has ceased to exist; the elec- 
tions have not been made; the state is dissolved. Two 
governors, equally illegitimate, contend with each other 
for the exercise of executive power of the state; and its 
inhabitants are under no legal and constitutional obliga- 
tion to obey either the one or the other; as you have been 
made fully sensible of, by your returned representatives. 
This monstrous phenomenon which has appeared in the 
political horizon of the state, has caused a universal and 
frightful disorder and confusion; convincing us that we 
have no time to lose. Therefore, we the undersigned en- 
treat the people of Texas to unite with their fellow-citi- 
zens of Bexar, in deliberating upon the means which it 
may be expedient to adopt, in order to save the country 
from such unparalleled anarchy and confusion!" 

While the majority of the Texasians were for uniting 
with the constitutional Coahuilaxanians in a renovation of 

rr 9 



222 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

their state government — which they somewhat accomplish- 
ed in the spring of 1835, — speculative opinions had been 
once more set afloat,-to the distraction of the people, and 
to the embarrassment of their already too confused situa- • 
tion : so that the would-be office holders had once more an 
opportunity of broaching their favorite scheme of separa- 
tion; and, in order to give it strength and plausibility, they 
enlisted the central political Chief of Texas, in ihcir be- 
half, who sent forth to the people on that p.ccount, address- 
es thick and three-fold, of the following texture. 

"Js not a government for Texas ahsolutely necessary? 
That it is, and that she is evidently without one, are points 
upon which there can exist but little difference of opinion. 
That Texas should immediately organize, and protect her- 
self from impending ruin, all must agree. But how or- 
ganize, and by what means afibrd herself that protection 
so necessary to her well-being, are matters about which 
contrariety and difference of opinion may be expected to 
exist. Many are in favor of organizing, on the principles 
heretofore adopted, — of forming Texas into a separate and 
independent state, leaving herself subject to the action of 
the general government, although there is, from past 
circumstances, but little hope left us from that quarter, 
and but little favor to be expected, knowing as we do the 
deep-rooted prejudices which have unfortunately been im- 
bibed against us throughout the republic. It would be well 
for Texas, under existing circumstances, to view her situ- 
ation and dependence, as respects her connexion with the 
state and general governments, both now in a hopeless 
state of anarchy. Let her then hazard nothing, neither 
by petitions which may not be answered, nor by requests, 
which have been made ; but promptly adopt the most pru- 
dent and least exceptionable course, which can be found 
within her reach; hazarding as little to the action of the 
general government as possible : for when, or what form 
of government she may ultimately settle down in, I pre- 
sume but few of us, if any, are sufficiently gifted with the 
spirit of prophecy to determine. 

"Taking then a superficial view of our situation, as be- 
ing without a government or law, it must be to every think- 



PARTY ADDRESSES. 223 

ing mind, truly appalling! and should be shunned as the 
greatest evil which could possibly befall usj for if we 
should once suffer ourselves to be brought into a situation 
so horrible, it would be truly fortuitous if we should ever 
be reclaimed. But it may be considered by some that as 
the general and state governments are both in a state of 
anarchy, Texas being an appendage must necessarily fall 
into the train. In answer to this, I say that the present 
situation of Texas, in a political point of view, is peculiar 
to herself alone, and her destinies depend solely on her own 
action; having still within her reach the constitutional 
reins, and as such, can control the machine called govern- 
ment, into the proper and legitimate channel ; or she can 
directly embrace the destroying fiend called anarchy, 
which it is well known stalks abroad in the land, seeking 
whom she may devour! 

"Let Texas shun her poisonous embrace, and call forth 
the energies of her patriotic citizens, to sustain her from 
the threatened labyrinth of anarchy, military misrule, and 
final ruin. To a superficial or casual observer, the po- 
litical horizon of Texas would seem to be overcast, — and 
the footsteps of anarchy already making their appearance ; 
these indeed, although they may be treated as illusory by 
many, may soon prove sad realities and leave us without 
a remedy. 

"But, as before observed, Texas has every thing she 
needs within her own control. Her unnatural connexion 
with Coahuila, a dissolution of which has been so much de 
sired on the part of Texas, is now by the act o^ihc former 
dissolved: let Texas then abandon her to her fate. She 
has withdrawn herself by her own wilful and unlawful act; 
forfeiting all claims to protection, from the provisions of 
the civil compact: let her then quietly enjoy the blessings 
of anarcliy ! She was at best but an unnatural sister; and 
Texas could have expected nothing better of her, than 
sooner or later she would act worthy of her noble self, 
and become a 'prostitute to the first military chieftain who 
might think her worth wooing. She has by her own 
wilful and abandoned conduct thrown herself without — let 
Texas then keep herself within, the pale and provisions 




224 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

of the constitution, which she has sworn to support and 
protect. Let the separation caused by the acts of Coa- 
huila, be responded to by Texas, and declared perpetual. 
Coahuila will, in this case, be left without a plea or ex- 
cuse, having wilfully committed an act of treachery, by 
plighting her faith and forfeiting all her guarantees. She 
can never be allowed to take advantage of her own wrong. 
Let Texas then immediately close in with her, on her own 
terms; suffering her quietly to enjoy all the rights, privi- 
leges, and benefits, which she can derive from the reign 
of anarchy or military despotism. But Texas is certainly 
not compelled to follow in her train: she is left free to 
act for herself. Let her then act the wise and prudent 
part, by containing herself within her own limits ; under 
the auspices of that constitution which she has^ sworn to 
sustain and support; and thereby leave nothing dependent 
on the action of the general government. Texas would 
then occupy a position which she has long desired: if not 
entirely as she would wish, as nearly so as circumstances 
at present will possibly admit. If she will act promptly 
and assume that position, it will be one against which 
neither the general nor any other government in the 
world, can take exception. And by that and no othei 
legitimate means can she save herself from anarchy and 
misrule!"— Oct. 20th, 1834. 

I think I hear the reader exclaim, as every honest, sober, 
peaceful citizen of Texas did at that time — Good God ! what 
a set of deceitful, ambitious, and ungrateful men has got 
into our country. What, while they were sitting quietly 
under those very laws, which they had confessed were 
granted to them more by courtesy than by strength in the 
state legislature, and that too by those very Spanish Mex- 
icans whose prejudices are so often spoken of — was it 
prejudice, which granted every law the Americans requir- 
ed, as far as the power of a state government could be 
stretched, even to that of tolerating all religions in Texas, 
and that too while the Texian members of Congress were 
but as two to five? or was it too much for them, in the 
solitary instance of retaining the retail markets of their 
own state, for the benefit of their own citizens, while they 



PARTY ADDRESSES. 225 

left those of Texas more than free to the Americans, and 
had just called on them in good faith to add their strength 
to that constitutional party, which. by so doing would final- 
ly prevail — and did — as the following address from a 
very different source, completely denudated those dema- 
gogues once more. Six months comparative peace and 
confidence was the result of this November circular of dig- 
nified reproof and cautionary advice. 

^^Fellow-Citizens — It is due to you and to ourselves, to 
declare, that at this time, we should not have convened or 
addressed you, on any minor publication which has ap- 
peared amongst us: but when repeated calls from the 
Political Chief of this department have been made in such 
a manner, we are bound and cannot do otherwise, than 
answer them. 

"The Grand Central Committee was raised by the 
Convention, for the purpose of guarding the people of 
Texas from any impending danger: and we would be the 
most treacherous sentinels indeed, if we did not warn 
you of the consequent ruin which would result, by follow- 
ing the weak counsels of some, or adopting the violent, 
reckless, ambitious views of others! 

"The people have been called upon by the Political 
Chief of the department of Brazos, to adopt a government 
of their own. And what kind of government does he pro- 
pose? and what would be the consequences resulting from 
it? We ask you to read carefully his addresses, especially 
the one of October, present year, and your own good sense 
will suggest the answer. This plan is surely well calcu- 
lated to produce disunion among ourselves — to arouse the 
dormant jealousies of the government, and to convict us 
of a wanton and ungrateful violation of the constitution 
and laws, which we hav^ sworn to support! 

"But it is said by our Chief, that Texas is evidently 
without a government. This position, although broadly 
laid down and confidently asserted, we are disposed to as 
confidently deny. It is true that difficulties have arisen 
between the cities of Saltillo and Monclova; that there 
were at the same time two persons claiming the office of 
Governor; and that there was no session of Congress at 



226 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the ordinary period. But do these facts, in the smallest 
degree, prove that there is for us, no government? If so, 
then it is in the power of any town, city or village, to stop 
the wheels of government, and throw a whole community 
into anarchy and confusion. But it is insisted that the 
Constitution has been violated; aeid hence we have the 
right to organize Texas. Weak and futile is this argu- 
ment, when it is tried -by the touchstone of law and rea- 
son. Because one part of a state or community has law- 
lessly violated the constitution, is that a justification, or 
even an excuse for another for doing the same? 

"If this political doctrine be true as to a state, it is 
equally true as to individuals: and when applied to men, 
it becomes preposterous and absurd, so that the weakest 
mind will easily detect its fallacy. We have no hesita- 
tion then in saying, that we still have a constitution; that 
we still have laws; and that it is the duty of every 
good citizen, with his life and fortune to support them. 
You are not, however, fellow-citizens, to suppose that we 
are opposed to a state government. On the contrary, 
there is nothing which we more earnestly desire : but we 
are equally anxious that none but constitutional measures 
should be adopted for the purpose of obtaining it. In this 
decision we are firmly fixed: but the plan of organizing 
as recommended by the Chief, seems to us to be fraught 
with many evils. It contains principles of a revolution- 
ary character, and would be certain to produce that state 
of anarchy and confusion which he so much deprecates. 

"It is revolutionary, because it proposes a separation 
from Coahuila, in a manner contrary to the letter and 
spirit of the state and federal constitutions. It would pro- 
,^duce anarchy and confusion, by bringing us in direct col- 
lision with the state and federal governments. And in 
short, we should soon have no government at all. If this 
is true, allow us to ask you as men, as husbands, as fa- 
thers, if you are prepared heedlessly to rush forward in a 
course, the termination of which may involve your coun- 
try of adoption, in all the horrors of a civil war? Are 
you prepared to plunge yourselves and your country into 
revolution, to imbrue your hands in the blood of your 



PARTY ADDRESSES. 227 

brethren^ and finally to be expelled from the land to which 
we are so much attached by the strongest of ties? If you 
are, then adopt the plan suggested, and we have too much 
reason to fear that our worst anticipations will be realized! 

"But from the information which we have, and which 
can be relied upon with confidence, we assure you that 
the feelings of the federal government, particularly those 
of the President, are of tlie most favorable character to- 
wards Texas. We are assured of this fact by our repre- 
sentative (Colonel Austin) and the advice which he most 
earnestly presses upon us, to be peaceful and quiet, and 
to a,dopt as our motto, ' the Constitution and laws, state 
and Federal.' If additional evidence is desired, we cite 
you to the repeal of the law of the 6th April, 1830. 

"From the state government too, we have surely re- 
ceived favors the most liberal and boons the most free. In 
fact, what has been for our particular benefit, which* we 
have asked, and they have not granted, which was in their 
power to give ? It has established the trial by jury ; it has or- 
ganized a court especially for Texas, and if it does not an- 
swer the desired end, and make us contecited, it is not the 
fault of the Legislature. 

"But, fellow-citizens, there are other important and in- 
teresting points of view in which we wish to present this 
subject. Stephen F, Austin was despatched by the con- 
vention as an agent to the General Government, for the 
purpose of procuring a State Government for Texas. He 
has discharged his duties zealously, faithfully and fearless- 
ly. This fact is known to every one; so have been his 
imprisonment and sufferings. His health is much impair- 
ed, and a speedy release is absolutely necessary. It is 
the duty of the agent to serve his constituents with zeal 
and fidelity. It is equally the duty of the constituents to sus- 
tain, support and protect their agent. These duties, we 
believe, have been thus far reciprocally discharged; and 
our agent has a fair prospect to be speedily released. We 
cannot then believe that the people of Texas can be so un- 
grateful — that they can so far forget themselves, as to 
invite fresh difficulties in the way of his liberty and per- 
haps his life^ 



228 HISTORY OF TEXAS. - 

"But again, when a country is in a prosperous and" 
flourishing condition; when the mass of the people arc 
contented and happy: when all are industriously employ- 
ed in their respective pursuits; it surely must be unwise 
policy in any man or set of men, to arouse dissentions 
amongst them, and scatter the seeds of discord and con- 
fusion between men. And we ask the people, we call upon 
the « old settlers,' the pioneers, who have borne the brunt 
and hardship of populating the wilderness, — if they have 
ever known the time, when the prospects of the country 
were more flattering than the present? 

" Our land has been blessed with the most bountiful 
crops : the tide of emigration still continues to flow in up- 
on us; and nothing is necessary to be done, but to dis- 
charge our duties as citizens in support of the constitution 
and laws ; and in a short time our every wish will be gra- 
tified. 

"In addition to this we are assured that the difficulties 
between Santillo and Monclova, are by this time adjusted, 
and that the state government will soon be restored to its 
proper functions, so that we have only to second them, and 
all will be well with us, as individuals and as a state. 

"We cannot resist 4;he temptation of speaking of some 
of those inflammatory documents, which have been cast 
as fire brands among the people to their eternal disquie- 
tude. We would ask then, if the people removed to the 
Mexican Government to 7naJee laivs or to obey the laics of 
Government? If a doubt arises as to the special meaning 
of any law, who has the right of construing and explain- 
ing, — the Mexican Congress, or the people of Texas? 
If the laws by which we are governed prove bad, how shall 
they be altered or repealed, so as to avoid the evil, and be 
productive of the most good ? is it by our violent express- 
ions of disapprobation of the proceedings of Government — 
or by petition to the supreme power for relief ? 

" Is it the interest of Texas to be at variance with the 
Government or not? if not, why pursue a course that is 
certain to produce it? If it is the interest of Texas to be 
at a good understanding with the Government, it is the 
easiest course of all others to pursue. We ask you then, 



PARTY ADDRESSES. 229 

in the spirit of candor, and with the privilege o^ first pi- 
oneers, has the Government ever exacted any thing unrea- 
sonable of Texas ? If she has, we must, before God and 
our country, say, we know it not ! Again, for your expe- 
rimental knowledge shall bear us out, has she ever bur- 
dened her with Taxes or the performance of arduous, 
expensive or perilous duties? Nay, has Texas ever borne 
any jpart in the expenses of sustaining the Government 
that protects her citizens, their lives, their liberty, and 
their property, either in legislation or in war? 

"But the great complaint is, (for we must be plain, Aus- 
tin has been candid,) that our Representative, whose person 
should be sacred, has been imprisoned. Was he imprison 
ed for being the representative of the people of Texas ? or 
for some of his own conduct uncalled for by the people of 
Texas ? Did he go to Mexico, to obtain for Texas such 
advantages as she supposed herself entitled to receive, ac- 
cording to law? or did he go there for the purpose of wri- 
ting back to the people of Texas, to take by foi'ce those 
advantages, if refused by the Government? If he has advi- 
sed the people of Texas to pursue a course in opposition 
to the known views of the Mexican Congress — and it has 
injured him — we ask, has it not also injured Texas gen- 
erally, in like proportion? But has our representative ev- 
er said, he suffered for the sake of the public cause, — or 
has the people suffered for his acts, as an individual? Now, 
if Texas could be made a state of the Mexican union by 
the will of the people of Texas, independently of the 
Mexican government, — why send a representative to 
Mexico? If it could not before he went there, why could 
it be so afterwards, by his merely writing back to that ef- 
fect, when none of the laws on the subject had been chan- 
ged or altered? 

"Another complaint is, and somewhat justly too, that 
the Constitution and laws are continually departed from; 
in consequence of which, we are compelled to forego some 
of those benefits and advantages which the Government 
promised us. It would perhaps be as well for us all to 
think of this, and speak as little about it as possible, as it 
might be that the too strict Surveillance of the parent 

U 



230 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

would restrict the playful wantonness of the children. 
But if the complaint is just, and the inspection would bo 
right, as no honest man will deny ! what then, is Mexico 
herself in any better situation ? Do we not see that fac- 
tion after faction overturns the Constitution and laws al- 
most daily, keeping up a chaos of dreadful confusion? 

"When has Mexico been able to avail herself of any 
of the blessings of a great well ordered Government? If 
it is not in her power to avail herself of these blessings in 
the very capital, how is it possible for her to extend them 
to any other part of the government? Besides all this, 
we know that the business of self-government is new to 
them, they have so recently escaped from the iron hand of 
tyranny; since which they have been so often disturbed 
by internal commotions, that they have been driven to the 
utmost vigilance, to provide against intrigue and strata- 
gem; which has been so often practised upon them, that 
they have become afraid of mere shadows. 

"In this state of danger and perplexity^ Texas has all 
the time been represented (would to Heaven, there had been 
no sign !) as being in a state of rebellion. Their natural, 
but often reasonable antipathy to, and want of confidence 
in foreigners — and the remoteness of Texas from the 
Capital, have kept up a feeling of excitement, jealousy, 
and alarm, in Mexico against Texas. 

" These are facts we all knoiD. Have we resorted to 
the proper means and measures — or have we ahvays em- 
ployed the proper instruments to abolish these impressions 
and regain the confidence of Government ? or has our 
conduct been such, as to strengthen their prejudices ? It 
will be said (as it has too often been) that the Law of the 
6th of April 1830, injured our rights materially, by stop- 
ping American emigration, and preventing our friends 
from coming among us. But we fear the conduct of Tex- 
as had as much to do in that respect as the conduct of 
Government. But it is well known that that was repealed, 
- almost as soon as made, as far as respects Austin's and 
De Witt's Colonies. Then where has the people of Tex- 
as been injured by that law ? for there were no other set- 



LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS. 231 

tlements made in Texas by foreigners at that time, nor 
any other release of the law called for. 

"When have the people of Texas called upon the Gov- 
ernment for any law to their advantage, or for the repeal 
of any law by which they were aggrieved, but what their 
requests have been complied with 1 But they are so te- 
dious, as to be likened to the sleep of Rip Van Winkle. 
Are there no causes for this delay ? What must be the 
answer of all who know enough about the Government to 
be entitled to an opinion — Texas is situated 1200 miles 
from the capital of Mexico ; and owing to the distance, 
and state of war in the country, ever since we have 
known it as a Republic, communications could be no other 
than tedious and uncertain. In the event of our petitions 
reaching Mexico in the recess of Congress, they must 
necessarily wait until the session ; and wait to be acted 
upon in their time ; and which might be at last neglected, 
owing to the immense mass of business, of more vital im- 
portance to the nation, occupying their whole time. 

" All these, besides many more reasons which might be 
given, have been sufficient to cause so much delay as to 
injure Texas materially, without the possibility of remedy, 
be the intentions of the Government towards Texas ever 
so good. 

" Self preservation is the first law of nature ; and so 
thinks Texas, and therefore complains of the Government. 
So thinks the Government, and therefore neglects Texas. 
Where are these difficulties to end ? They will end in 
Government getting through her troubles, wherein Texas 
must bear a part, or she will add to the calamities of the 
nation, and ruin herself forever ! | " 

LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS. 

The public administration suffered, in all its branches, 
the shocking consequences which could be produced by 
having two equally divided powers of Executive in the 
State. A treaty was made, and the dispute was submitted 
to the resolution of his Excellency the President of the 
Republic, General Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna ; 
which resulted to the satisfaction of all parties, and in d 



232 HISTORY OP TEXAS. 

renewal of the elections for members of the Legislature, 
and other High functionaries ; so that the Legislative 
body, which should have entered into the discharge of its 
functions, in conformity with the constitution, on the first 
of January 1835, did not verify this act until the first of 
the ensuing March. 

During the space of two years previous to the meeting 
of this Legislature, the land office of the Brazos depart- 
ment, (directed at this time by a Protege of Austin's, who 
applied the power given as much as possible ad kominem ; 
and to those who may doubt it, I say probatum est!) had 
all the unoccupied lands surveyed, no matter where situ- 
ated, or in what quantity, so they were of the best quality 
to be found in the country. 

A committee (headed by Austin's representative, above 
mentioned, in the Colonies,) from a company of Land specu- 
lators, whose plans were well laid and whose funds were 
completely organized, presented themselves before this — 
by the people of Texas, never to be forgotten Legislature ; 
who immediately passed a decree to sell the vacant lands 
of Texas, and otherwise arranged it to be done as soon as 
bidders should present themselves. 

Of course they were there — and purchased this already 
surveyed land, of 411 leagues, for 30,000 dollars in hand, to 
the Government, or $72 99 cents per league. But we 
shall allow their traveling expenses, in conjunction with 
those by-bribes to such members of the Legislature as 
were not in land partnership with them, to raise the whole 
amount expended in this nefarious transaction, to 40,000 
dollars, or $96 35 cents per league ; by bringing this ex- 
orbitant price within the grasp of every man's mind, allow 
me to say, tivo cents, and three-fourth mills, per English acre ' 

The House went on thus for some time gloriously ; de- 
cree after decree was passed, and signed by as corrupted a 
Governor — What will not gold do? But behold! the 
Brother-in-Law of the President Santa Anna, General Don 
Martin Perfecto Cos, Commandant General of the Eastern 
states, and his troops were at hand. Santa Anna himself 
was close by, quelling an insurrectionary movement in 
Zacatacus. Orders were given from head quarters, and 



LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS. 233 

the unconstitutionally acting Legislature of Coahuila and 
Texas were (with the exception of those who seasonably 
made their escape,) made prisoners ; and in due time han- 
ished — of course their decrees of that session, declared 
null and void, by the General Congress of Mexico. The 
Texian Representatives, and other Americans at that 
time in Monclova, lost no time in their retreat from thence 
to Texas — raised the war-whoop — Santa Anna has des- 
troyed the Liberals of Zacatacus ; General Cos has ar- 
rested the State Congress of Coahuila and Texas. To 
arms, to arms ! For the Mexicans have declared they will 
drive every American out of their country !! 

Alas for the ignorant and simple hearted Texasians, du- 
ring the summer of 1835, who were not only uncommonly 
harassed, but many of them slain by the hostile Indians 
of that period ; and now, by a set of outrageously disap- 
pointed men, thrown into terrors indescribable — reports 
fi-om every mouth, of evil certainty, or but of doubtful 
security : no organization in society, and no rule in 
action : but like the Hebrews of old, when there were no 
judges in Israel, ^ every man did that which was right iu 
his own eyes' — Civil law defunct! and Military law unborn. 
Then, sure enough, the Ultras of their country had grati- 
fication to the heart's core, if anarchy and confusion 
among men, grief and affliction among families, could 
satisfy such depraved appetites. 

The alarming party wer^ few in comparison, but they 
were talented and systemized; closely connected and 
indefatigable in their endeavors to infuse suspicions 
against the General Government, and commit their country 
without the possibility of a recall. In this they were as- 
sisted by American Refugees, from the state of Zacatacus, 
who said ' the orders in Santa Anna's army were, cut doivn 
all Americans!'' But they should have added, to make the 
information complete, that these Zacatacusian Americans, 
instead of standing on neutral ground, were found fighting 
in the ranks of the insurgents. But, as the Texian citi- 
zens were, in the language of the Israelitish Prophet, 
'scattered as sheep without a shepherd' — if not exactly 
upon the mountains, yet far and wide upon every hill and 
v2 



234 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

glen of their extensive country, which made them only 
the more liable to be devoured by every wolf who could 
make his appearance in sheep's clothing — again they were 
supported by the State Government who had been once 
more collected (at least for Coahuila) under their Governor 
Agustin Viesca, of considerable energy and political hon- 
esty, but who had to put up with a congress in which were 
many members of the last Legislature. He issued his 
proclamations and his addresses to the Texasians, in which 
he requested and demanded an armed force, to support him 
and the Coahualixians, against the encroachments of that 
military power, which he said threatened their very exist- 
ence, not only as a state but as a people: for said he — 
"The Nation generally, and Coahuila and Texas in par- 
ticular, is in the deepest jeopardy. Liberty has become 
a by-word, and the aristocrats now in possession of the 
government, wish to blot out the very word from our vo- 
cabulary ! 

" Citizens of Texas, arouse yourselves, or sleep for ever ! 
your dearest interests, your liberty, your property, nay, 
your very existence depends upon the fickle will of your 
direst enemies. Your destruction is resolved upon, and 
nothing but that firmness and energy peculiar to true 
Republicans can save . you. The present administration 
in Mexico wish to reduce Texas to a territory, and if this 
degradation should not prove sufficient to arouse you to take 
hostile steps, they mean to add insult upon insult — dis- 
grace upon disgrace, until you are ultimately compelled to 
defend yourselves. 

"They expect that England, in consideration of exclusive 
commercial privileges, will be induced to assist them in 
carrying destruction into your section of the Country; 
and from that, in case of assistance from the United States, 
Texas should become the war-field of two rival nations! 
.The grea.t object of sepai-a ting you from Coahuila, is to have 
you considered ^'& foreigners ; and your very existence de- 
pends upon your resisting this separation at this moment. 
Support the Government of Coahuila as true Citizens. 
The members which compose that Government, are the 



REVENUE ORDER. 235 

sincere friends of Texas ; and their greatest glory will con- 
sist in rendering you the first state in the Union! 

"Fellow-citizens of Texas, I again repeat, arouse your- 
selves, gather round the standard of liberty, sustain it 
against every effort of Despotism and oppression. Then 
may you calculate with certainty on all the happiness that 
can be insured, by liberal institutions and a liberal admin- 
istration. Many powerful States of the Union are with 
you. The mass of the nation is galling under the yoke of 
aristocratic and fanatic tyranny: and the problem must now 
be solved, whether we are to live as freemen, or continue 
to exist as Slaves, under military despotism." 

Now the Committee of vigilance for Texas — now the 
Ayuntamiento of Brazos and Bexar departments, were to 
be found at their respective posts. The press groaned 
under conflicting statements, made currente calamo. The 
Couriers were continually moving from post to post, and 
the people were tumultuously congregated in every pre- 
cinct. Resolution upon resolution was passed, and sent 
by the authority of the posse comitatus, to the Commandant 
General of the Eastern States in Matamoros. Those com- 
munications from the people or farmers, were of the most 
friendly and favorable kind; but those from the Agitators, 
or would-be office or land holders, of the most threatening 
and dangerous sort: — 'down with the Dictator Santa 
Anna! and death to all his supporters who shall enter 
Texas!!' 

REVENUE ORDER. 

A Revenue officer and forty men by way of guard had 
been stationed on Galveston Bay by General Cos, in the 
fall of 1834, (he had been the only officer of the kind in 
Texas, for nearly three years;) he was often annoyed and 
miserably harassed on his post, by those who wished that 
port as free as the balance : yea, so disagreeable had his 
situation become, that the Ayuntamiento of Liberty took 
him under their protection and published the following 
order in his behalf, June 1st, 1835. 

Department of Nacogdoches Jurisdiction of Liberty. — 
" The Ayuntamiento of Liberty, having been informed of 
the difficulties existing between some of the merchants 



236 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and the Collector of the maritime Custom house of Galves- 
ton, in relation to the collection of duties imposed on for- 
eign wares, goods and merchandize, and being desirous to 
put a speedy period to these dissentions: 

"We, therefore, in conformity to the 155th article of- 
the State Constitution, thought proper to issue this mani- 
festo, indicating to all the good people of every Jurisdiction, 
that a prompt obedience to Ihe Laws is the first duty of 
every good citizen: that every Nation enjoys the undoubt- 
ed right, to establish its own system of revenue: that the 
revenue laws, like all other political laics, are to be re- 
spected by those who come within the legitimate sphere of 
their action. And although these laws m.ay be unwise, 
yet to resist them by force is more unwise and iiltimed 
than the laws themselves — besides it would be criminal! 

"If a few indivichials forcibly oppose the collection of 
the customs, what will be its tendency ? will not others fall 
in their train? which if continued will ultimately produce 
a state of things, the injurious consequences of v.hich are 
incalculable. 

"We are willing to admit, that these dutk;S, when ap- 
plied to the peculiar condition of these Colonists, are dis- 
proportionate in some particulars and oppressive in other.', 
and stand in great need of modification. But this modifi- 
cation is only to be effected by the National Congress. 
Our murmuring at home, or wrangling with the Collector 
who only does his binding duty, serves only to fan the 
iiame, and augment the difficulties in obtaming the much 
desired modification of the tariff'. 

" The Mexican Congress, can have no motive, in oppres- 
sing the Mexican Citizens with imposts; nor do we be- 
lieve they desire it; but on the contrary, if the General 
Congress were memorialized on this subject, in a proper 
and respccfful manner, we have no reason to doubt that 
they would appb/ the proper remedy. In such a measure 
we vrould with pleasure tender our hearty co-operaticn. 
-We are well aware, that the great body of the people of 
Texas are too sensible of their duty to themselves and 
allegiance to the Republic of Mexico, to be precipitately 
drawn into collision with its constitutional authorities. 



REVENUE ORDER. ~ 237 

But perfect subordination extends to something more than 
to the upright conduct of its citizens: the respectful de- 
portment of strangers, who are not citizens, and their 
obedience to the laws are included. This is the only 
condition upon which they are permitted to enter our 
territory, or to remain within its limits. The subject of 
having duties or prohibiting statutes, is a matter about 
which they have no right to interfere. Every intelligent 
Merchant, before he enters into foreign commerce, takes 
care to inform himself of the particular laws of the place 
to which he intends to trade. He ought to know the cus- 
toms due on importations and exportation s — what goods 
are admissible, and what prohibited according to the usa- 
ges — the Tariff and the regulations of the place to which 
he extends his trade. If he blindly precipitates himself 
into difficulties, for want of that necessary information 
which he might have had, and gets his cargo seized for a 
violation of the prohibitory law, which he as a merchant 
is -presumed to know, what reason has he to complain? the 
fault is his own ; the plea of ignorance will not avail him , 
he only suffers the penalty of his own temerity. To resort 
to force would only augment the mischief; and all those 
who might be drawn into the affair would incur heavy 
penalties. This Ayuntamiento therefore, with great soli- 
citude and determination, caution all persons against using 
any force, violent threats, or illegal means — aiding or assist- 
ing those who may use force, violent or illegal means, against 
the Collector of the maritime customs of Galveston, in the dis- 
charge of his official duties; or against any of his officers, 
or other persons lawfully employed in the custom house 
department. And we call upon all officers, both civil and 
military, to lend their aid if required, to sustain the revenue 
officers residing at Galveston and Anahuac, in discharging 
their respective official duties. And we moreover enjoin it 
as a duty incumbent on the Commissaries and other officers 
of Police in Texas, to use their best exertions to suppress and 
prevent all mobs, riots, threats, or disorderly conduct against 
the good order and public tranquility; or against any of the 
public functionaries, or other individuals of this municipality, 
who may be engaged in preserving the Laws and the Con- 



238 HISTORY OP TEXAS. 

stitulion of their country inviolate; and to give timely no 
tice ofany such mal-conduct, together with the names of those 
who may be engaged therein, to the competent Authorities." 

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS. 

Some short time after the promulgation of the above, 
the peace party as they were called, by request from the 
Political Chief of Brazos, sent five representatives or 
committee-men, from every precinct of the two depart- 
ments, to consult with the central committee, on the pre- 
sent posture of affairs — give such advice and adopt such 
measures, as they in their joint wisdom, should see pro- 
per; as they had just been called upon, by the Ayuntami- 
ento of Austin, who had yielded to the solicitations of the 
war party, in requesting the people to embody themselves, 
and march to the taking of San Antonio de Bexar from 
the government troops; for said they, «As we have neg- 
lected the call of the Governor, we must secure Bexar, 
and prevent it from becoming the depot, from whence the 
Dictator will pour in his troops upon us to our eternal de- 
struction!' As soon as the Ayuntamiento of Villa de 
Austin saw by the movements of the joint committees that 
their measures would not be adopted, and that they would 
transmit to General Perfecto Cos a very different resolu- 
tion from what they had done, under the influence of the 
war party-— they broke up their session and departed. 
The war faction became exasperated, and convened them- 
selves suh rosa vi et armis, and actually insulted the flag 
of Mexico, irremediably, by appearing before Anahuac, 
and taking the commissioned officer of the General Gov- 
ernment's Revenue, and all his men prisoners, dispossessing 
them of their arms, and ordering them <to be seen in San 
Felipe as soon as God would let them I' returning them- 
selves to their own homes, before the people of the coun- 
try were aware of their intentions. 

This did not yet discourage the deputies of the people. 
They were determined to finish the business entrusted to 
their care, and sent an express to General Cos, by two of 
the most influential and worthy citizens, who were direct^ 
ed to leave nothivg unexplained to his Excellency, who 



OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS. 2381 

had been as yet continually assuring the people, not only 
of his own but of the Government's good intentions towards 
them. The Committee prepared their resolutions in the 
name of the people, and promulgated them as follows, in 
and through their Political Chief. 

" To the People of Texas — Fellow-citizens, I now ad- 
dress you with a summary statement of what has been 
done, by your Representatives in committee assembled in 
the town of Austin, under my presidency, as Wyly Mar- 
tin, and do now in consequence lay before you a course to 
be pursued, which I trust will be your beacon in these 
times, and a warrant for the establishment of tranquillity, 
which has been so unhappily disturbed. 

" The many reports circulated among us, of the alleged 
actual hostile preparations, and exterminating intentions 
of the Mexican government towards us — that armies (of 
which we have seen nothing) were in march to drive tts 
from our land, despoil us of our property and rights — 
having produced throughout Texas an uncommon and most 
pernicious degree of excitement — stayed emigration, (the 
bone, sinew, and marrow of our strength and prosperity,) 
and now induced some emigrants to return without ac- 
complishing their intentions of settling: therefore, the 
respective districts of Austin, Columbia, Mina, Gonzales, 
Colorado, &.c. &.C., held meetings, to deprecate the course 
and the authors of those excitements, and to resolve that 
committees from their respective jurisdictions, should con- 
gregate with the committee of vigilance, for the purpose 
of conferring on matters relating to the public good; and, 
by investigating the cause which has affected it, be ena- 
bled to send, forth, to their respective constituents, and to 
the inhabitants of Texas, in general, statements which 
have not their aim in sordid interest, in partiality, or in 
undue affection, and enmity — but in honest and heart- 
felt desire to allay the storm which has been conjured up, 
on this privileged soil, and sent away from, and disturbed 
in their homes, families, who fled at the reported approach 
of danger — preceded by the genius of destruction! On 
assuming to myself, by virtue of my office, the charge of 
addressing you — I do most earnestly request you to lay 



240 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

aside excited feelings — to banish from your breasts, in- 
terests and partialities, prejudicial to the common weal — 
and by examining and comparing facts, to come to a right 
conclusion. 

« Some importers of goods have refused to pay at the 
Ports the duties, or to comply with the formalities prescri- 
bed by law, and a lawless coast from the Nueces to the 
Sabine has been the result. An expedition oi^ armed men — 
Americans ! was got up by a part only, (and remark, a 
small part too) £>f Texian citizens, presented themselves 
before Anahuac, and compelled that garrison to surrender; 
thereby trampling on the rights of the Mexican flag, and 
treating the Mexicans residing among us, as hostile for- 
eigners, whereas we are Mexican Citizens!! residing 
on Mexican Territory! and with oaths of allegiance still 
fresh upon our memories. Correspondence from some of 
the Mexican Military authorities, addressed to the Com- 
mandant at Anahuac, was forcibly taken possession of; and 
some Mexicans have unfortunately been shot amongst us 
as spies; whose crimes, if any, have been thus cruelly 
punished! before they were properly known, or investiga- 
ted — or proved!! 

" That such outrages, on the government we live under, 
should have been committed by some individuals is much, 
very much indeed to be lamented ! But it is still more to 
be lamentedj that Texas, whose interests lie in peace, and 
the majority of whose citizens are peaceful, should be 
dragged into collision with their own government, by 
the precipitate, and unjustifiable acts of ^few. In this 
case it is not that government, which has committed on us 
aggression; it is a certain part of the Texas inhabitants, 
who have proved to be the unprovoked and unnecessary 
aggressors. If we had just cause for taking up arms, — 
if we were indeed invaded, it would be that I, even I an 
old pioneer, should say, let us resist like Americans! in 
whom resistance to oppression and invasion is character- 
istic, and to whom in a correct cause fear is unknown — 
(but, a word to the wise about invasion, let them see to it.) 

"I deprecate those acts, because they were uncalled for, 
and unnecessary. And I earnestly advise my fellow-citi- 



OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS. 241 

zens to remain peaceable, and to obey only those orders 
which may lawfully emanate from their Constitutional au- 
thorities. The official communications (which have alrea- 
dy been published) from Genei^al de Cos, to the Political 
Chief, breathe throughout — as you will also perceive by 
the one annexed — peace and harmony, inculcating obe- 
dience to the laws, and more recently (as you will see) 
Colonel Ugartechea, the principal commandant residing 
at Bexar, has addressed the same authority (Political Chief) 
and assures him ' that the Colonists have riothing to fear 
from the introduction of troops,'' and that they (the Mex 
ican authorities) have never thought of trampling on the 
rights lawfully acquired by the settlers, who ought not to 
doubt, that the Supreme Government will attend to their 
representations, and will at the same time omit no means, 
for accomplishing the grand object — the welfare of all 
and each one of the inhabitants of this interesting part 
of the Republic !' 

, ;"I,have also the pleasure of communicating the agree 
able, inforrjiation, contained in the last letter received by 
your servant from Colonel Austin, dated < Mexico, March 
10th, 1835,' in which he says — <■ The territorial question 
is dead. The advocates of that measure are now strong 
ly in favor of a State Government; and that subject is now 
before Congress. A ca,ll has been mad^ upon the Presi- 
dent for information on the^ subject; and I am assured, 
the President will make, his. communication in a few days, 
and that it will be decidedly in favor oi Texas and the State? 
« From a full and arduous examination of all the evi- 
dence, and knowing by the resolutions and sentiments of 
the many people, that there is no wish to come to a rup- 
ture with Mexico, and that peace is their prayer; knowing 
therefore, that peace is the desire of their constituents, 
your respective committees have deemed it fit not to with- 
draw, until they had done every thing in their power to 
restore that boon to Texas, and that union which ought to 
subsist with our Mexican brethren. They have provided 
for a personal interview by proxy with General Cos, — 
they have nourished, cherished, and assjLsted the former 
Commandant of Anahuac, (as he could not be prevail- 



242 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ed on to return to his post,) and his men, to land according 
to their request in San Antonio de Bexar. 

"May every success attend their endeavors. May tran- 
quility and prosperity exist, and be permanent in Texas : 
and whilst it satisfies the ends of justice, may its dignity at 
the same time remain uncompromised, is the fervent pray- 
er of your Political Chief and fellow citizen, Wyly Martin, 
who has the honor of laying before you the proceedings of 
your Committees, and the other documents necessary for 
your instruction and comfort." — August 15th, 1835. 

" We the representatives of the people duly elected and 
appointed by them, to learn, try, weigh, and resolve, upon 
the cause and effect, which have produced evils unbear- 
able and fears unmeasurable, in the breast of every citi- 
zen, who wishes his own welfare and his country's to be 
inseparable. 

"Our constituents learning that the Congress of the 
State had, during its session of March present year, acted 
improperly — contrary to the rights of States, and in di- 
rect opposition to the Constitution of the Mexican confed- 
eration, — being corrupted from their line of Legislative 
duties, by the undue influence of a few foreigners and 
others, they became amenable to the laws made and pro- 
vided — Therefore were they treated by the government 
of the nation according to their deserts. 

"Those who had escaped, for the time being, just cor- 
rection and punishment, — threw themselves into the midst 
of our tranquil community; disorganized the system by 
overthrowing confidence and hope — like the scorching 
blasts of the sirocco winds, carrying destruction, grief and 
dismay, into the peaceful dwellings of every loyal, virtu- 
ous and contented family. If checked in their designs of 
compromising the people, or detected in their falsehoods 
resorted to, in order to cover the guilt of their proceedings — 
perseverance was their motto, and fertility of invention 
their characteristic : so that by the flexible nature of their 
sinuosity, they were enabled to give to the country of Tex- 
as, an unparalleled shock throughout all its members, 

"To give this shock consistency and name, the Govern- 
or called upon each Department of the State, for one hun- 



OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS. 243 

dred men, armed and equipped, to sustain him and a vile 
Congress, that have bartered our public lands, for a mere 
song; — but he found that in calling upon us, 'he had 
reckoned without his host.' It was too much for us to 
risk, (if it was not too much for him to ask) our blood to sus- 
tain those who had wantonly squandered our lands. It 
will be recollected that the advocates of a state govern- 
ment have ever contended that the public lands would sus- 
tain for the first ten years t\\e expenses of a state govern- 
ment. What vdll be our situation when deprived of this 
land? There will be found but one set of men in all Tex- 
as, who would support such measures, and those are the 
very men who purchased the land. 

" The law of the 14th of March past, is looked upon by 
the people with horror and indignation: it is looked upon 
as the death blow to this rising country. In violation of 
the General Constitution and laws of the Nation — in vio- 
lation of good faith, and the most sacred guarantees, — 
Congress has trampled upon the rights of the people and 
the Government, in selling jfot^r hundred and eleven leagues 
of land at private sale, and at a shameful sacrifice ; there- 
by creating a monopoly, — thereby entirely ruining the fu- 
ture prospects of our country, contrary to law, and 
contrary to the true interests of every citizen in Texas! 
Therefore — 

Resolved — That we protest against the late sale of our 
lands, in the late Congress of Coahuila and Texas, and 
view it as an act of corruption in all parties concerned ; 
and that we will not sustain such men nor measures — But 
on the contrary, aid the General Government in maintain- 
ing the integrity of the Constitution and Laws of the 
Mexican Nation. 

Resolved — ^Jhat we recommend and promote by every 
means, a general union of sentiment among ourselves, 
moderation, organization, and a strict adherence to the 
laws and constitution of the land ; meanwhile, protesting 
against the conduct and acts of any set of individuals 
(less than a majority,) calculated to involve the citizens 
of Texas in a conflict with the Federal Goy^rnment. 

Resolved— That we shall, if required, assist the Gov- 



244 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ernment of our country against those persons who will 
not obey the Revenue laws of Mexico ; and that we will 
particularly assist in bringing to condign punishment those 
individuals who have with malice afore-thought, and with 
rebellious intentions, insulted the National flag of the 
Confederatit)n at Anahiiac-— denouncing said individuals 
or' persons, as foreigners, and disclaiming all participa- 
tion in their acts whatsoever. 

Resolved — That we sincerely invite the Supreme Ex- 
ecutive, to carry the Revenue laws into effect ; suggesting 
at the same time a modification of these laws, in order that 
the duties shall all be collected. We believe that reason- 
able duties, collected by Collectors understanding both 
iang^aagies without favor or collusive management, would 
be cheerfully subinitted to by the Merchants : but in a 
contrary case, wie pMg«*.ourselves to aid the Federal Au- 
thorities in their collections. 

Resolved — That we furthermore suggest to our Fede 
ral Executive, that a Court of Admiralty Jurisdiction, to 
hold its sittings in Texas, would greatly facilitate the ob 

* ject q£ collecting those duties ; while at the same time it 
would relieve Texas from ike embarrassment of tedious 
and foreign suits. 

Resolved — That we wish to be considered, as the 
faithful and legal citizens of Mexico, and that we are dis- 
posed and desirous to discharge our duties as such ; and 

' that it is our wish and interest tbrewiaiw attached to the 
Federal compact ; humbly sustaining our position until 
the Federal Congress shall legally admit us to the rights 
of a separate state — or till the loyalty and patriotism of 
th.e inhabitants of Texas shall challenge this comfort at 
their hands I 

Resolved --"-That every act or deed, tendihg to inter- 
rupt the h^rrhony and good understanding of the Federal 
Government^ and Texas, by whomsoever made, deserves 
the marked disapprobation and contempt of every friend of 
good order and constitutional regularity in the country — 
therefore, we pledge ourselves, our property, our hon- 
or, and our lives, to abide, stand by, and fulfil, as becomes 
the determined resolves of freemen, all and every duty 



OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS. 245 

required of them, as such, by their > own free will and 
consent !!" — Signed &c. 

TBI: BRIGABIER GENERAL 
MARTIN PERFECTO DE COS, 

Commanding General a^d Inspector of the Eastern Internal 
States. 

IN THE NAME =0F THE PBESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC : 

I MAKE it khidwn to all and every one of the inhabit- 
ants of the three departments of Texas, that whenever-, 
under any pretext whatsoever, or through a badly con- 
ceived zeal in favor of the individuals who have acted as 
authorities in the state, and have been deposed by the 
resolution of the Sovereign General Congress, any should 
attempt to disturb the public order and peace, that the 
inevitable consequences of the war will bear upon them 
and their property, inasmuch as they do not wish to im- 
prove the advantages afforded them by their situation, 
which places them beyond the uncertainties that have agi- 
tated the people of the centre of the Republic 

If the Mexican Government has cheerfully lavished 
upon the new settlers all its worthiness of regard, it will 
likewise know how to repress with strong arm all those 
who, forgetting their duties to the nation which has 
adopted them as her children, are pushing forward with 
a desire to live at their own option without any subjection 
to the laws. Wishing, therefore, to avoid the confusion 
which would result from the excitement of some bad citi^ 
zens, I make the present declaration, with the resolution of 
sustaining it.* 

Matamoros, July 5, 1835. 

Martin Periecto de Cos. 

* As a rarity of its kind, we subjoin a copy of this document in the 
original language and form, with a fac-simile of General Cos's signature, 
which, according to the Spanish custom, consists simply of a flourish of 
the pen under the printed or written name : This custom in Mexico, 
learned at fiist by the child with a stick in his hand, saves the feelings 
of the unlettered man, and his flourish stands side by side equally proud, 
and recognizable in a court of justice with that of th^ most learned 
scribe ! 

v2 



246 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



Principal Commandancy of Coahuila and Texas. 

" Charged by the Commandant General, with the preser- 
vation in the State, of public tranquility and fulfilment of 
my duty — I can do no less than address you as interested 
in sp important an object, upon >vhich depends the happi- 
ness of the inhabitants of the Department; in order that 
you may make every effort, for dissipating the alarms occ 
casioned by false information, communicated by unquiet 
and revolutionary characters, who, resentful at not being 
able to carry into effect their depraved intentions of di- 
lapidating the lands of Texas, wish to make the inhabi- 
tants believe the jSupreme Government is going to send 
forces to tZispeZ .proprietors of the possessions, which they 
have acquired by a title ; without any other object on the 
part of those perverse men, than to prosper by means of a 
revolution." 



El General de Brigada Martiit Perfecto de Cos, Comandante 
Generale Inspectoi^ de los Estados Internos de Oriente. A i^ombue 

DEL PRESIDENTE DE lA REPUBLICA. 

Hago saber a todos y a cada uno de los habitantes de los tres Departa- 
mentos de Texas, que siempre que bajo cualquiera pretesto o por el de 
un zelo mal entendido en favor de las personas que fungieron de autori- 
dades en el Estado, y han sido depuestas por la determinacion del Sober- 
ano Congreso General, intentasen trastornar la quietud y el orden publi- 
co, pesaran sobre ellos y sus intereses las consecuencias inevitables de la 
guerra, ya que no quieren sacar las ventajas que les proporciona su 
situacion, que los pone fueria de las oscilaciones que han agitado a los 
pueblos del centro de la Republica. , ■'■• 

Si el Gobierno Mexicano gustosamente ha dispensado toda su consid- 
eracion a los nuevos pobladores de Texas, sabra tambien reprimir con 
mano firrae a los que olvidados de lo que dfeben a la JVacion que los 
adopto por hijos, se avancen hasta querer vivir a su vbluhtad, sin sujecion 
ninguna a las leyes. Deseando pues evitar los trastornos que resultarian 
de la ecsaltacion de algunos malos Ciudadanos, hago la presente manifes- 
tacion, con protesta de sostenerla. Matamoros, J ulio 5 de 1 835. 

Martin Perfect© de Cos. 



WAR FACTION, . .247 

• « In order, therefore, that you may succeed in tranquil- 
izing the mind, and dissipating the falsehoods which have 
been spread for the purpose of compromitting the colo- 
nists, you can show them this communication, and also 
manifest to them, that they have nothing to fear from the 
introduction of troops ; as this measure would have no 
other object^ than thett of placing them as detachments at 
the Ports, to prevent the smuggling trade — which is car- 
ried on with impunity by adventurers — and likewise to pre- 
vent the incursions of the Indians, who, when they are 
not cliastised, become every day more insolent, and too 
frequently commit hostilities. 

"fVorhave we ever thought of trampling upon the rights 
lawfully acquired by the colonists, who ought not to doubt 
that the Supreme Government will attend to their repre- 
sentations ; and will, at the same time, omit no means of 
accomplishing the grand object, of the welfare of all and 
each one of the inhabitants of that interesting part of the 
Republic. 

. " At the same time I do no less than expect, that you 
will by the virtue of your office, prevent the enemwjs of 
order from circulating reports, forged for the purpose of 
compromitting the incautious : a,nd if th^re be any person 
or persons in the Department, whose minds of pernicious 
counsel are occupied in disturbing tranquility, and whose 
actions are conducted to the injury of their country, you 
will forthwith proceed to restrain and con-ect, by the pow- 
er which your office creates ; bringing them to just punish- 
ment, according to the Constitution and laws of your 
country. On this occasion I have to offer you the protes- 
tations of my particular consideration and regard. God and 
Liberty." Domingo de Ugaetechea. 

Bexar, July 15th, 1835. 

WAR FACTION. 

As soon as the above facts were promulgated by the Po- 
litical Chief, the members of the war faction found their 
situations in the upper parts of the country very danger- 
ous : therefore did they congregate thems slves in Brazo- 
ria and other places near the sea board o the Province ; 



248 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

where they wore joined by their best friends the slave 
holders, who said, 'their negroes, G- — d — 'em, were on 
the tip-toe of expectation, and rejoicing that the Mexi- 
cans were coming to make them free I' Samuel Williams 
(already mentioned) who had been the shadow of Austin 
in the Colonies, ever since he departed for Mexico in 
1832 — and who -was blamed by those opposed to the land 
speculation, as the leader of the monopolists, took his de- 
parture for the United States of the North, with all expe- 
dition ; but not before he had been rather roughly handled 
in Colombia. He was accompanied by some of the most 
talented of the faction, who were thought the hcsi quali- 
fied to make a diversion in their favor, among tl^e citizens 
of the United States. Others were despatched to Na- 
cogdoches, where Colonel Durst, who had been the Legis- 
lative member for that District — and who had received by 
contract some of the land for his assistance in this Yazoo 
affair, had just published an exculpation of his conduct, 
wherein he said, ' If the Texian citizens had not purchased 
the land, somebody else, not so intimately connected with 
the country, would have receive4 ^^•' 

When General Cos heard of the Anahuac affair, he 
despatched one Captain - Thompson — an adopted citizen 
of Mexico, (formerly of England) with his small sloop of 
war, to make obse;-vations, and find out whether the Col- 
lector and his men had been massacred by the Americans, 
as had been reported, or not — and return to Matamoros 
as soon as possible, with his information. But in th^.per- 
son of Thompson, the old proverb was verified, ' sqI a beg- 
gar, &c.,' for as soon as he arrived at Anahuac, he acted 
with so much insolence, (the fact is, there was too much 
bantering bravado on both sides,) and tarried so long on 
the coast, that his opponents had time to collect their 
strength, by uniting together such lumber vessels as could 
be got at, and loading them with such destructive materi- 
als as could be found, best adapted to attack him with 
success. 

But they were disappointed in the pleasure of hanging 
him! by the expeditious measures made use of in New 
Orleans, to fit out the regular trading schooner San Phe» 



WAR FACTION. 249 

lepe, with hollow-ware and other necessaries, supposed by 
the agents of the Gulf Party, to be best adapted for their 
welfare. Thompson hailed this vessel of hard-ware, with 
the authority of a Revenue officer; and the Americans not 
hearing him distinctly, imagined he must be hungry; there- 
Tore, with the best feielirigs of human nature in such cases, 
^ent him a hollow tube full of iheiv most substantial pro- 
visions. The compliment was returned with gentleman- 
like courtesy, until Thompson saw some of his men over- 
gorged with American politeness. Therefore, to save 
the balance^ he yielded the contest of such reciprocal ur- 
banity. But as he could show no document in support of 
the character which he had assumed, they sent him to 
New Orleans as a pirate, who had been caught interrupt- 
ing the trade of both republics. 

At this time the public press in Brazoria, (the only one 
then in Texas,) had been taken possession of by the united 
company of Whigs, as they termed themselves ; but, ac- 
cording to the opposition majority still, land-jobbers, law- 
less merchants, slave-holders, office-seekers, and vain grog- 
drinking boasters. However, be that as it may — it was 
deemexl an a;ct of prudence in the d — d Tories, as the 
would-be peaceable party were called, not to visit the 
lower couatry too much, nor to interrupt them in their 
high handed proceedings. Resolutions and addresses were 
distributed in every quarter, by a committee of men ap- 
pointed for that express purpose; as they were determined 
ito provide in the best manner they could, for that resist- 
ance they were sure the Mexican government must now 
malie, or be unwdrthy of the name ! 

They now saw, or thought they saw, that not only 
would their application to the American citizens of the 
United States of the North be successful, but that their 
own strength laow was by no means contemptible. Be- 
sides, the oppositionists would pro tempore be so involved, 
that they will be obliged to fight or lose their property; — 
for we have in the first place 

Resolved — That no person or persons whatsoever, un 
der the control or in the name of Santa Anna, shall be 
suffered to enter Texas, whatever may be his credentials, 



250 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

or upon whatever principle he may assume the privilege. 
Secondly, we have 

Resolved — That if any citizen or citizens whatevei', 
shall leave the country on, or before the contest — or shall 
assist the enemy in any shape whatsoever, , during the 
conflict, their property shall be confiscated for and in be- 
half of the war. And thirdly, we have 

Resolved — That the property of those inhabitants, who 
may pretend neutrality or otherwise, so as not to assist 
their brother Americans in this war, shall be the fi'st 
sacrificed to its welfare and prosecution I 

Now as Providence would have it, once mare Colonel 
Stephen F. Austin appeared among them. Of course he 
became the rallying point to all parties in this political 
contest. ' Committed ! — once more committed, my friends,,' 
he cried, «in thei sight of heaven and of menll Down 
with those rag liberty poles, more like sc^re-crows in a 
potato-patch, than flags of honorable resistance. Have 
you forgot the Freedonian pin-pole of Nacogdoches, which 
was danced round by the facetiou^ liberty-men, until its 
bark flew off, and with the last peeling they had to fly 
themselves.' 

At this time the people of the northwestern Texas 
were occupied day and night with the hostile Indians, or 
in mourning over the infatuation of more civilized men. 
And the inhabitants of the southeastern parts of the coun- 
try were engaged night and day with frolicsome parties, 
or were rejoicing over the prospects of their ascendency 
among men. 

As the rulers and people of the Mexican republic were 
divided in their explanations of the Federal Constitution, 
it was thought best, by taking all things as they now stood, 
for the Texasians to raise in full concert the standard of 
state rights, being that which the Liberals of Mexico had 
adopted, in opposition to the present reigning government. 
By their taking this step, sometliing like rule and order 
again prevailed in the country. And those who were the 
best adapted, for the purpose of creating an excitement in 
the United States, were sent to those places where the 
merchants and land speculators resided, so that they migh^ 



War faction. 251 

b6 supplied in the first place, with that which was the most 
needed, a larger quantity of funds than men. Now if it 
is the duty of a Representative to do all he can for his 
constituents, and for a lawyer to say all he can in favor 
of his client, in like manner it should be allowed — and 
more so, for the Texian deputies to work on the passions 
of the people, as they are in one respect neither like the 
representative nor the lawyer, asking for a right that should 
be acknowledged, nor for a fee which should be paid, but 
for an offering of free will, always given with the most 
sympathy when the petitioner has the tact of coloring the 
question in his favor, and holding the picture of distress in 
the proper degree of light and shade. Therefore, in this 
case the following method has been and must be pursued: 
Tell the Americans of the United States, that the Texian 
Americans claim their sympathetic assistance as brothers! 
But, tell them not, that many of these brothers injured them 
all they could in pecuniary matters, before they forsook 
the paternal roof, and that another set of them, especially 
those who have been the only cause of the Texian trou- 
bles, left them because their now feeling relations would at 
that time, had they not gone without a good-by, sent them 
to a far different world! 

Again, tell them, that the Mexicans are not only cruel, 
but treacherous and cowardly; — but tell them not that 
they have been cruelly deceived and treacherously dealt 
by — nor that their cowardliness is not exactly to be esti- 
mated by the poor zambo soldiers the Americans have 
been heretofore accustomed to. Tell them also, that the 
Mexican government, instead of nourishing and cherish- 
ing the people of Texas to the best of their abilities, has 
been their robber and oppressor; — but tell them not that 
the greatest robbers and oppressors of the Texian settler, 
have been their fellow-citizens, and those who pretended 
to supply their wants; and that the Mexicans have never 
in one solitary instance called on a Texasian for any assis- 
tance whatever, in their troubles with government. Tell 
them, that the favor of settling Texas has been all on the 
side of the Americans; — but tell them not, that every Ter- 
ritory in North America was all to settle in the same man- 



252 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ner, and the land to be purchased besides, at twenty times 
the cash amount. Then tell them, that the Mexicans are 
hiring the hostile savages against the poor Americans; — 
but tell them not that the Americans have as much con- 
trol over the Indian barbarians as the Mexicans have ; and 
that the Americans may thank themselves for a great deal 
of the savage animosity! And forget not to tell them a 
pitiful and exaggerated story about the privations which 
had to be endured, of hunger and thirst— dpjigers innu- 
merable, and woes too horrible to relate; — but tell them 
not, that there have been but few instances of starvation; 
and not so many woes — nor yet more dangers, than are 
to be met vvith in every new country. Above all tell 
them, that the Mexican government was the^r^^ aggres- 
sor, in this cruel, barbarous, and unjust war; but beware! 
tell them not, that a* government ought to be believed — 
especially by its own subjects, until it acts contrary to pro- 
mises made. Now had the government of Mexico been al- 
lowed to send those Washinangoes necessary, to collect 
the revenue and assist the people against the murder- 
ous savage — then it would have been proved by their 
conduct whether the promises of government were false 
or not. If false, such cowards by a united people, would 
have been soon whipped or starved out of the country. Then 
it would have saved much wrangling, much division and 
much sorrow, with a great deal of heart-burning animos- 
ity against one another among the Texasians, which will 
never be completely eradicated; to say nothing about those 
lives lost on the occasion, among the Americans themr. 
selves, that can never be recalled ! 

Now when all these things have been told, and all those 
matters have been left untold, finish the subject as syste- 
matically as it was begun, by telling them (and fear not the 
corpus juris civilis, for the law was never made that could 
not be evaded,) not only of these lands set apart for the spe- 
cial benefit of those patriotic volunteers who shall assist 
their brethren in distress, but of the many privileges they 
shall receive and enjoy at the hands of the grateful Tex- 
asians; — but as before, tell them not, that the lands of Tex- 
as now unclaimed, are of little, if of any account whatever, 



WAR FACTION. 253 

fof the purpose of agriculture ,• and those persons who shall 
give up a part of what they now possess to such men, will 
be sure to keep the cream of the pot, in the land as in 
the office for their own use^ and probably throwing with 
the begrudged moi*sel a bitter taunt, such as, < the Oppidans 
of the United States rejoiced over that occasion, which 
took from their cities, so many unruly disturbers of the 
public peace!' 

The Mexican Government had always had a small body 
<3f troops stationed in Bexar and Galiod (the two only Spa- 
nish towns in Texas,) but, by the new order of affairs 
which had taken place in the country after the arrival of 
Austin, these troops must either join the cause of the Mex- 
ican Liberals, (now the ostensible cause of the Texasians,) 
or leave the Province^ At this time General Cos was still 
relying upon the many promises heretofore made by the 
peace party — still confiding in the loyalty of his soldiers 
to the government cause — still believing that the war 
party might be deterred from high handed measures — and 
still concentrating his disposable forces in San Antonio de 
Bexar, as their most eligible point of reasonable security, 
in case of his friendly negotiations proving of no avail, be- 
tween the people and their government. 

But he leaned upon a three-pointed broken reed, and by 
it he was transfixed! for the Texasians now in power, had 
but one answer to all his overtures of compromise, < Con- 
stitutional republicanism' — < accede thereto as our friends, 
if not you must soon meet us as our foe !' And sure enough 
they lost no time in calling upon him as their enemy, to whom 
they had the pleasure of introducing a goodly number ot 
American volunteers* The one half of his soldiers were to 
the government disaffected, and the other half soon gave up 
the unequal contest; but not before many a valuable life 
was lost, especially on the side of the conquered. The 
prisoners (some of them noble ones too,) were sent to Na- 
cogdoches for better security, while the government stores 
were taken possession of as a God-send, by their needy 
conqueroi's. 

' Now,' said Stephen F. Austin, the commander-in-chief 
of the Texian army, <let us organize, train, and prepare, 

W 



254 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

for the best reception possible of Santa Anna's large body 
of troops, said to be on their way from the city of Mexi- 
co, in order to quell the insurrection, or rebellion of the 
Texian Americans.' <Good,' they replied, ^ and in order 
to prepare effectually, let us (for patriotism must, in order 
to avoid a natural death, like every other ism, be fed with 
its corresponding food,) visit the scattered, frightened, and 
insulated Spanish shepherds, w ith their flocks and herds on 
the banks of the Rio Grande; and if the Mexican troops 
should appear, we can fall back, and that too in such or- 
der, as will not only be highly beneficial to those heroic 
spirits engaged, but to those who wish them well, although 
circumstances debar them from otherwise partaking of the 
glorious enterprise I' 

Such doctrine crossed the line of Austin's creed a little 
too much — therefore, it was by the army agreed, (not 
only on that account which might never be prosecuted, but 
otherwise,) that a warlike chief of more energy was ne- 
cessary for their welfare. Consequently, ex-governoi 
Houston of Tennessee was elected their leader; while 
Stephen F. Austin, who wished to visit the United States, 
should still hold his high office as generalissimo of the so- 
liciting corps stationed there, not only for the good of his 
country, but for the peace of his mind, and the right ex- 
ercise of his talents. 

LATE OCCURRENCES. 

To conclude, as far as political matter is concerned with 
truth, the eventful year of 1835 in Texas, I shall only add a 
few genuine documents of thrilling interest, and leave 1836 
to speak to the reader and myself, well assured, that to 
the unprejudiced man in Texas it will speak the truth; 
but as well convinced, that truth will be a sti-anger to the 
man who lives out of it, although rumors and despatches 
many, each, in their turn, will call upon him, and say <I am 
verctcity /' 

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT HOUSE, MeXICO, 19th NoV. 1835. 

The undersigned as principal olBcer charged with the 
despatches of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the 



LATE OCCURRENCES. 255 

Mexican Republic, has received orders from his excellency 
the President, to address the government of the United 
States, through its secretary of state, on the subject of two 
questions of great interest — which should be explained 
with all good faith which characterizes both nations. 
Justice, reason and mutual interest require that this ex- 
planation should occur to prevent being destroyed the ties 
of friendship and reciprocal confidence which has subsisted 
till the present time between both countries. 

Conformably to the orders of his government the under- 
signed, in addressing the honorable secretary of state for 
the United States, has the satisfaction to be enabled to 
announce to him in advance, that his government is well 
aware that principles of justice invariably direct the cabinet 
at Washington, which has already given sufficient proofs 
of its kindness and sympathy for the welfare and prosperity 
of the Mexican republic. He has never doubted and does 
not doubt that as soon as these claims will be proved just 
and well founded, they will be rectified with all that 
promptitude used by the most friendly nations to repair 
their reciprocal wrongs. 

The first subject to which the undersigned feels it 
mcumbent on him to call the attention of the secretary 
of state of the United States, is the notorious co-operation 
of a great number of the inhabitants of Louisiana, with the 
insurgents of Texas, whose cause they have espoused and 
with whom they act as auxiliaries. The Mexican colo- 
nists — for they are so and can be nothing else, since they 
have renounced their original nationality — would never 
dare to violate so openly their duties towards their adopted 
country, had they not the assurance that prompt and effi- 
cacious succors would be given them along their frontiers. 
These succors are furnished by American speculators who 
regard solely their own interest. 

Unfortunately for them these assurances have been too 
well founded. Even before they raised the standard of 
revolt, they had received from their friends at New Orleans 
all the necessary materials to prepare and kindle that flame 
which must inevitably devour their increasing prosperity, 
if they shall not promptly open their eyes, and submit 



856 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

anew to the authority of the national government, which 
they have outraged, and which if it disclaims to revenge 
itself, is yet firmly resolved to render itself respected in 
the extent of our immense territory. Since that the colo- 
nists of Texas have obtained and daily obtain from New 
Orleans, assistance of all kinds, in men, munition and arms, 
in silver and soldiers, who publicly enlist in thai city and 
carry with them arms against a friendly nation, the solu- 
tion of this question, purely domestic, is rendered more 
complicated by their presence. Even public assemblies 
have been organized at New Orleans, which with the 
greatest publicity interfere in the affairs of Texas, or even 
direct them — and either by means of the pressor meetings 
ostensibly convened, seek continually to generalize the 
future views of some of them and Texas with the opinions 
of the citizens of the United States; in other woi*ds, they 
seek to give a color of American nationality to- what is 
in fact a mere speculation of different adventurers of all 
kinds. 

The undersigned knows already that many of these 
acts have been committed and are still committed under 
the refuge of the liberatism of American institutions — 
without the local authorities or the government of the na 
tion having any power to oppose them ; of which kind are 
the freedom of the press, individual liberty, and the unre- 
strained exports of commerce. For these reasons,then, the 
government of the undersigned cannot and should not so- 
licit the action of the United States Government, except 
to adopt measures authorized by its own laws to prevent 
the evils which a foreign intervention (although individual) 
in a domestic dissention, may produce to a friendly nation, 
attached to it by political and commercial ties. 

The secoiid subject on which the undersigned must ap- 
peal, is the capture and arbitrary detention of the Mexican 
schooner of war, the Correo of Mexico, captain Thompson. 
This ship was captured in the waters of Texas by the 
American merchant ship the San Felippe, captain Hurd. 
To justify an act so scandalous, and doubtless to counte- 
nance this gratuitous outrage done to the Mexican fiag, a 
part of the crew of the Correo have been accused of piracy. 



LATE OCCURRENCES. 257 

The undersigned can assure the honorable secretary of 
state for the United States that the ship Correo commanded 
by Thompson was a ship of war, under the full authority 
of government: that captain Thompson, as well as the 
whole of his crew, belonged to the national marine of the 
Mexican republic; that they were found in the seas of 
Texas in the execution of orders received from competent 
authority,- and that in short the coast-guard service of the 
schooner imposed on her captain the duty to prevent all 
contraband, and chiefly of war. This being established, 
how can a ship of war, recognized as such by a sovereign 
nation', be considered a pirate — since to be declared a 
pirate, according to the doctrine of Galiane, Aruni, Hobbs, 
and all jurists who have written on maritime law, a ship 
should have neither papers nor commission of any govern- 
ment, nor belong to any nation? Then they reply that 
he has committed excesses, as there is none to reply for 
him. If captain Thompson had overstepped his powers, 
in visiting ships beyond the view of the coast — if he had 
committed violence, or had seized on the property of any 
American citizen, he depended on his government which 
would infallibly have punished him, and indemnify all the 
parties for the losses which they might have suffered. 
But it is not on the simple affidavit of Captain Hurd that 
they can ever establish the culpability of Thompson, if he 
is really guilty; nor has the captain of a merchant ship 
the right to capture a war vessel of a friendly nation, to 
lower its flag, declare its crew prisoners, and cast-its offi- 
cers into irons — and lastly hoist a flag different than its 
own; — and take it as a prize into a foreign harbor. 

These principles are those of maritime jurisprudence. 
The undersigned knows too well the great extent of the 
learning and knowledge of the honorable secretary of state 
of the United States, to explain to him those principles, 
founded not only on international rights, but on the 
constant practice of maritime nations. In consequence 
the government of the undersigned does not hesitate 
an instant to believe that the American government will 
show itself impartial and just — that it will order the resti- 
tution of the Correo of Mexico, which being a ship of war 
w2 



f 58 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

is nati^al property — that it will set at liberty captain 
Thompson and the other prisoners detained at New Or- 
leans, under pretence of a charge of piracy — that it will 
make captain Hurd responsible before an American tribu- 
nal for the gratuitous insult done to a ship of war of a 
friendly nation, and render him amenable for all the 
damages and prejudices occasioned by his arbitrary con- 
duct. On its side, the government of the undersigned is 
resolved to establish an enquiry into the conduct of cap- 
tain Thompson, who will be examined in good faith and 
with a scrupulous attention, so as to leave no doubt of hia 
guilt or innocence; and in the first case to punish him with 
all the rigor of the laws, and indemnify all who may have 
been injured by Thompson in his quality of commanding 
a Mexican ship of war. 

Approved by the undersigned, charged with the minis- 
try of foreign relations, &c. 

JOSE MARIA ORTIZ MONASTERIO. 

To the honorable secretary of state for the United States- 



New York Commercial Advertiser, November 23. 

" The packet ship Montezuma, Captain Davis, arrived 
in New York from Vera Cruz, (sailed on the 6th instant) 
bringing advices from that port to the 5th, and from Mexico 
to the 1st, inclusive. 

" The tidings of the movements in Texas had reached 
the capital, and as was to be expected, had produced a 
great excitement. The most energetic measures were 
resorted to without a moment's delay, and there is every 
appearance that we shall soon hear of serious doings in 
the revolted province. A strong feeling of ill will and 
suspicion against the Americans resident in Mexico was 
aroused, and apprehension was entertained of injury to 
their persons and property. A large number of commis- 
missions for privateers — the accounts say five hundred — 
had been received at Vera Cruz, to be given out as occa- 
sion might require. The archbishop of Mexico and the 
bishop of Puebla had undertaken to furnish the govern- 
ment with a million of dollars to carry on the war." 



LATE OCCURRENCES. 259 

From the advices aforesaid, we find the language of the 
Mexican newspaper editors, as follows, " The colonists of 
Texas have revolted against that supreme government, or, 
to speak more correctly, against the nation which has 
shown them such generous hospitality, and lavished upon 
them means by which they might live and even enrich 
themselves. It is not, fellow citizens, a question of pro- 
nounciamento in favor of federalism, or centralism, or who 
shall govern. What these ungrateful men aspire to, is to 
rob Mexico of the fertile soil to which they were admitted, 
without any other condition than submission to the laws 
of the country which they hypocritically swore to obey. 

"A handful of perfidious adventurers, seduced or led on 
by those enemies of their native soil, Lorenzo Zavalla and 
Jose Antonio Mehia — from a corner of the republic, from 
the very spot whither they were from compassion allowed 
to go, endeavor to impose laws on and trifle with the gal- 
lant and heroic Mexican people. They would deal with 
us as the viper did with the simple and humane husband- 
man, who warmed it in his bosom to bring it into life; but 
they are greatly mistaken. The supreme government 
has called into action all its resources, and the supreme 
congress was devising new ones to preserve the Mexican 
territory entire, and to make an example of the ungrate- 
ful and wicked adventurers who attempt to dismember it, 
and insult the generous nation which gave them shelter 
and hospitality." 

"Now, more than ever, we should be wise and rally 
round the supreme government, to avoid becoming the 
plaything of a handful of banditti, whom we have incon- 
siderately fostered. We repeat that this is not a political 
question, nor nothing like it. It is a question of national 
honor, shamefully outraged and otherwise assailed. We, 
Mexicans, every where justly bear the character of pos- 
sessing a nice sense of honor and bravery — let us prove 
that we deserve it; let us place at the disposal of the go- 
vernment all the resources in our possession; let us take 
up arms and march against the robbers of Texas, that 
nothing more may remain of them, than there does of 
Ti*oy, the memory that it once existed. Justice is on our 



260 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

side, wo are not the aggressors, we have been insolently 
and audaciously provoked, let the punishment be terrible, 
that it may serve as an example. The Supreme being is 
just and merciful and will not forsake us." 



New Orleans, December 24, 1835. 

By the Editor of the New Orleans Bee, the following 
letters were received and thus commented on. "How 
serious and melancholy! and surely of importance sufficient 
to cause sober reflection in the minds of our citizens 
who are not only solicitous for the success of our breth- 
ren in Texas, but are equally anxious to preserve faith- 
fully the treaty ties of alliance between Mexico and the 
United States, and maintaining the integrity of our com- 
merce and political relations. 

" The despatch of the Mexican minister for foreign af- 
fairs to Washington, is an able and guarded document; 
and well worthy the attention of the executive government. 
The President in his message has stated that he had in 
part acted on the first suggestions recommended by the 
Mexicans; when he asserts that he gave orders on the 
subject to the United States district attorneys,- and we 
believe he might with the utmost safety act on the second 
in liberating Thompson and his crew as the prisoner has 
had a trial, and his jury could not agree on a verdict. 
Even this circumstance should inspirit to mercy if not to 
justice; for according to the law of nations, Thompson 
should not have been tried in any of our courts, for what 
he did as a Mexican citizen, in the Mexican seas, and 
under commission of the Mexican government. Thomp- 
son may doubtless have exceeded his authority; but the 
despatch points out the legitimate means of redress. 

" On the subject of the death by order of a court martial 
of twenty-eight of our citizens at Tampico on the 14th 
instant, the minds of our citizens will be divided in opin- 
ion — some probably looking on it as but authorized 
butchery deserving vengeance, while others more cau- 
tious and experienced may think it lamentable, but also 
justifiable by necessity and the laws of nations. The 



LATE OCCURRENCEa 261 

invaders of a friendly country cannot be viewed as priso- 
ners of war by right or courtesy, whether they have vol- 
untarily or involuntarily taken arms against that country — 
the fact of having been found in arms against the peace 
and authority of the nation is a sufficient charge for con- 
demnation, and justification for any mode of d jath con- 
formable to military laws. Those who went out in any 
of the expeditions from this place must have known the 
consequences. They went out in their individual capa- 
city as citizens, and the United States government is not 
responsible for their conduct; they have suffered in that 
capacity, and our government is not bound to take cogni- 
zance of their fate. Those who go to Texas should be 
prepared for victory or death; and certainly those who 
foolishly made an attempt upon Tampico, dared the ven- 
geance of the Mexican authority and laws. Their fate 
may be lamented by their immediate friends and the friends 
of humanity : but it is justified by necessity and policy, 
by right and law — precisely as the fate of any criminal 
becoming amenable to the penalties of justice for violated 
law. 

" In publishing the address of the unfortunate sufferers 
before sentence of execution was passed on them, we must 
not be supposed to endorse their opinions, particularly 
those relating to Mr. Christy and the Texas committee, 
who may have acted in perfect good faith; but whose 
regulations were overruled by the machinations of Mehia 
and his officers. There is not a more honorable gentle- 
man in his public and private life than Mr. Christy : and 
he would be the last to deceive any or engage in any 
scheme of duplicity. Nor do we believe that he really 
knew of the destination of Mehia: or that this general 
sought more than to aid the Texians in their own state. 
Indeed a mystery hung about the whole affair; and the 
ship did not clear at the custom house till wholly prepared 
to sail: — yet even most of those on board did not know 
for what port she had cleared. The Texas committee in 
this city may have acted foolishly in aiding Mehia to 
equip the expedition; but they cannot be accused of hav- 
ing acted faithlessly toward any of the emigrants, or of 



262 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

having violated the treaty between Mexico and the United 
States — of the latter the sufferers' address itself excuses 
them. 



Tampico, December 14, 1835. 

Dear Sir: — This morning twenty-eight unfortunate 
victims, of treachery and villan)^, part of Mehia's expedi- 
tion, were shot. I hand you enclosed a list of them, with 
a petition presented to the Military Commandant, by sev- 
eral foreigners and Mexicans drawn up and signed by the 
prisoners, but alas, it was not in his power to meet their 
solicitude. The papers enclosed were sent to me by the 
curate who attended them in their last moments; they re- 
quested that they might be printed in New Orleans. The 
letter from Jonas H. Steward, and the petition to the Com- 
mandant were given to me at the prison gate on Sunday 
morning. I had them translated into Spanish, and pre- 
sented them myself to the Commandant, and am satisfied 
that had he the power he would have complied with their 
last request. 

You have here a full view, as will the government and 
people of the United States have of the hideous crime com 
mitted in the port of New Orleans, of God and of honor, 
under the pretence of populating Texas, a number of dis- 
tressed and unfortunate beings are entrapped and put on 
board the schooner Mary Jane, Captain Hall, under the 
express stipulation and understanding that they are bound 
for Matagorda and Galvestown in Texas, as the clearance 
of said vessel at the custom house in New Orleans on the 
6th ultimo indicates j it was farther understood that they 
were to have lands on their arrival there and a free pas- 
sage ; but mark the result. Such as has been the fate 
of these unfortunate men, was near to have been inflicted 
on every American in this place — such enterprizes may 
in New Orleans be termed mercantile speculations; they 
are worthy ©f such men as enter into them and I do not 
envy their feeling. 



LATE OCfcUrvRENCES. 268 

Extract of a letter of an American gentleman at Tainpico, 
to a respectable house in this city, dated 

. Tampico, December 14, 1835. 

I, ill common with every respectable foreign merchant 
in this place, and I may add with every one throughout 
the country, most heartily deprecate the late attack made 
upon this port by Mehid and Peraza, supported as they 
were by troops raised abroad. You must be aware that 
the war in Texas, peopled as it is, principally by North 
Americans, naturally predisposes the minds of the unedu- 
cated portion of the Mexicans against our citizens resident 
here, and even against foreigners in general. This feel- 
ing is increased by the strongly inflammatory nature of 
nearly all the proclamations issued at the present moment 
by the commanding officers to their troops : and there is 
now a double source of apprehension on account of the 
late attack upon Tamaulipas, for it is known that the ex- 
pedition was fitted out from your port, that the men were 
enlisted there, and that the requisite funds were greater 
than any one or two of the chief movers of the plan could 
advance. 

Even those in this count;*y who may have instigated 
this plan of operation have deceived themselves : for most 
of those upon whom they counted refused to act in con- 
cert with foreigners against their own countrymen. 

Why is it that the government of the United States does 
not take decisive measures to prevent the notorious em- 
barkation of men, arms, and money from her ports, and in 
a vessel which sails confessedly for the purpose of attack- 
ing a country at present at peace with her? And more, 
why after permitting this, and thus compromising her citi- 
zens resident here, does it not send out for their protec- 
tion a sufficient number of citizens? I am aware that 
New Orleans is the only place in the United States where 
the operations above mentioned can be carried on effec- 
tively; that place will be the heaviest loser should Amer- 
ican property in this country be placed in jeopardy. All 
sensible merchants in Mexico wish for peace under what- 
ever form of government the nation may think fit to adopt: 



264 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and it is really vexing to think that our security and that 
of our property should be compromised at home. 

We, the undersigned prisoners of war, condemned to be 
shot on Monday next the 14th instant, at 7, A. M., by a 
military court martial, conformable to the established cus- 
toms of the country, and composed of officers of the Mexi- 
can army, the sentence being read and interpreted to us 
on Saturday, at 4, P. M., by Captain Alexander Faulac 
of said army, as our last dying words, do declare ourselves 
innocent of the charge of either participating or coUeague- 
ing with any person or party, having for its object the 
revolutionizing or destroying in any manner the tranquil- 
lity of the government of Mexico, and that the testimony 
given before the honorable court of enquiry will corrobo- 
rate the. declaration ; the facts and circumstances being 
briefly as follows: — 

That about one hundred and thirty men, composed of 
Americans, French, and Germans, two-thirds of which 
being of the first named class (including three who are na- 
tives of foreign nations but naturalized) embarked on the 
6th November last, on board the American schooner, Mary 
Jane, Captain Hall, said to have been chartered or em- 
ployed by a committee of which Mr. William Christy, of 
New Orleans, was the agent, to convey emigrants to Tex- 
as, then understood to be at variance with the Mexican 
government. This opportunity afforded many in pecuni- 
ary circumstances a passage free, which was readily em- 
braced and accepted of. The terms agreed upon were, 
that it was optional whether the party took up arms in 
defence of Texas or not; that they were at full liberty to 
act as they pleased when landed on the Texian shore. 
That taking advantage of this favorable opportunity they 
accordingly embarked — the vessel proceeded on the voy- 
age, and nothing transpired to indicate a belief that all 
was not right as it should be, until the 6th day we under- 
stood that a general, with his officers or staff*, was on board 
the vessels, whose design was to act in concert with the 
Texians, and induce us to join him. 

Of this however we recjeived no certain assent, but the 



%. 



LATE OCCURRENCES. 265 

truth is — Tampico was our destination, and an attack on 
the city, the design, which is now evident, and not before 
' — the land being in sight, and the vessel standing in, it 
was announced that it was Tampico; that the steamboat 
then also in sight would have us in tow, and Tampico 
would be in our possession. Elated with this harangue 
proceeding from the authority (through the instrumentality 
of Captain Hawkins, one of the aids) of General Mehia, 
gome were induced to join his standard, but of these the 
number could not have exceeded fifty, thirty-five of whom 
were French and Creoles of New Orleans, who doubtless 
had a previous understanding, they being exclusively 
privileged, having the quarter deck to themselves, and 
seemingly armed and equipped prematurely. The boat 
had us in tow soon, and all that could be crammed below 
were driven there until she struck the bar, and the steam- 
boat soon after. In this awful predicament night closing 
on us, the sea breaking over us, efforts were made to reach 
the shore, which at imminent danger was effected safely, 
and we were all landed during the latter part of the night 
and early part of the morning of the following day. A 
formidable fort surrendered without an attack, and we 
built fires to dry our clothing. 

The party were now tendered arms and ammunition, 
and never having been soldiers before, some probably took 
them from curiosity, others from necessity and others from 
compulsion; and it is asserted and believed that no one 
person was or had been acquainted with two others of the 
number of us, so added to the hurry and the bustle of 
the officers, that before we could have an understanding 
we were mingled and bundled together more like a hoard 
or drove of swine than a com.pany of soldiers competent 
to act as f?uch, particulauy against regular trained soldiery. 
At about 5, P. M., on Sunday, we were formed and made 
ready for the attack, having added to our number from 
thirty-five to fifty citizens, soldiers or adherents, and which 
were all judged to be Mexicans, a number being fellow 
prisoners with us, but without trial to this moment. 

Having no other resource we were necessarily compel- 
led from obvious reasons to join the party, with a full de- 

X 



266 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

termination not to act in concert with it, but to submit 
ourselves- as prisoners of war, having no design or inten- 
tion to fight, and without one single exception every in- 
dividual of the undersigned, from motives of conscience 
and oppression, added to the shameful abduction and de- 
ception practised on us, chose to throw ourselves on 
the clemency and mercy of the authorities. And this 
being the substance of our testimony before the court, yet 
notwithstanding, mark the result which has terminated, 
not in an ignominious but christian like death. Trusting 
in God, and bearing in mind his promise and with our 
trust in his mercies, we die both as christians and men. 

We have now but nine hours allotted to us, and con- 
clude by hastily requesting all who may hear of our fate 
not to entertain an erroneous impression. 



List of persons under sentence of death by order of a mili- 
tary tribunal, held at Tampico, to be shot on Monday, 
December I4thy 1835: 

Arthur N. Clement, native of Pennsylvania, aged 30 years 
— no parents; 

Tnomas Whitaker, do. do. do. 30 — fa- 

ther in Pennsylvania; 

William C Barclay, native of New York, aged 20 — 
parents in New York; 

Jacob Morrison, do. ' do. do. 21 — 

parents in Kentucky; 

Edward Mount, do. do. do. 23 — 

mother in state of New York ; 

Charles Gross, native of Pennsylvania, aged 23 — mother 
in Pennsylvania; 

Isaac F. Leeds, do. New Jersey, do. 30 — no pa- 
rents ; 

Mordecai Gist, do. Maryland, do. 53 — father 

in Maryland. His own last residence in Indiana; 

David Long, native of Ohio, aged 25 — mother in Ohio; 

William H. Mackay, native of Virginia, aged 20 — mother 
in Virginia; 



LATE OCCURRENCES. 



267 



Jonas K. Stuart, native of Vermont, aged 33 — mother 
in Vermont J 



Daniel Holt, do. 

in Canada; 
James Cramp, do. 

in Oswego, New York; 
Lewis Jacobs, do. 

in Lower Canada; 
Thomas H. Rogers, do. 

in Ireland; 
Daniel Donelly, do. 



Canada, do. 18 — parents 

England, do. 22 — parents 

do. do. 21 — mother 

Ireland, do. 23 — ^^parents 

do. 



in St. Johns, New Brunswick; 
James Farrell, do. do. 



do. 20 — parents 

do. 22 — father 
in Green county. New York; 

John M. Ives, do. England, do. 35 — no pa- 

rents; (two brothers in New Orleans;) 

Augusto San S. Sear, do. France, do. 22 — parents 
in France; 

Augusto Demoussent, do. do. do. 25 — parents 

in France; 

Frederick Delby, do. Dantzic, do. 24 — parents 
in Dantzic; 

Frederick William Mauer, Germany, do. 22 — parents 
in Saxony; 

Henry Wagner, native of do. do. 24 — no pa- 

rents. Last residence, Philadelphia; 

John Ibish, do. Germany, do. 24 — no pa- 

rents ; 

Andreas Hehn, do. do. do. 50 — no pa- 

rents ; 

George J. Selin, do. do. do. 27 — father 

in Germany; * 

William H. Morris, do. New Providence, do. 28 — no pa- 
rents; 

L. M. Bellepont, do. Hanover, do. 26— no pa- 

rents. 

Three Prisoners died in the Hospital, viz: 

Fleming, native of Pittsburgh, Pa., aged about 25; 

Harris Blood, do. England, aged 40 ; 

James McCormick, do. Kentucky, aged 30, 



268 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

The following is a letter from one of the prisoners to 
his friend in this city : 

Tampico, December 13, 1835. 
9 o'clock, P. M. 

Dear Fbiend — I will in as few words as possible give 
you intelligence of my fate, which is an untimely one. 
To-morrow morning before sunrise, together with 27 of 
my companions, we are to be shot according to orders 
given to us by a court martial of Mexican soldiers or offi- 
cers, for an attack on this city on the 15th of November 
last. I for my part am perfectly reconciled to my fate. 

There is no use in giving the particulars of the battle ; 
I am pretty sure you must have heard it before ; I at the 
time of the engagement, received a wound in the head 
with a ball, and another through the right hand. I have 
been in the hospital until this afternoon from the morning 
of the battle. No money can save us — even five thou- 
sand dollars was offered for any individual — there .was 
likewise offered one hundred thousand dollars as a ransom 
for all, which was refused. The reason is, they want to 
deter others from embracing the cause of liberty. This 
is a regular massacre. We should have been treated as 
prisoners of war. I hope the American nation will re- 
venge our deaths. I have but a few hours more to live; 
so God bless you all ! Farewell forever. 

James Farrell. 

To Mr. Garretson, New Orleans. 

P. S. — Write to my relations. You are the only one 
1 have written to. I can say no more. 



Extract of letters received from a respectable gentleman 
in San Luis Potosi under date of 24th November, 1835. 
Great excitement prevails here in consequence of the 
invasion of Tampico, and « Anglo Americanos,' is in the 
mouth of every one. We know none of the particulars 
as yet, and wait the mail to-morrow with some anxiety. 

I have at this moment heard that the invaders still have 
possession of the fort at the bar, and are waiting aid from 
outside. 



PROBABLE RESULT. 269 

November 27. 
I hope the invaders will soon be dftven off, it makes a 
great noise here, and as no extra mail has arrived since last 
mail, we suppose nothing favorable has taken place. 

December 1. 
The night news of the repulse of the enemy at Tam- 
pico arrived : the cry through the streets of Viva Santa 
Anna y mueron los estrangeros, was rather grating upon 
the ear. 

PROBABLE RESULT. 

On a review of the whole matter, one who is neither 
prophet nor the son of a prophet, may venture to predict, 
that one out of three things, must as a natural conse- 
quence, take place from this Texian war. The fi'st, 
which is the most probable, and by far would be the most 
desirable, is, that the Liberals or State Right party of 
Mexico, will overturn the present Government, and estab- 
lish the Federal Constitution in its purity of 1624. In 
that case Santa Anna would neither have time nor oppor- 
tunity to superintend the affairs of Texas in person : 
therefore, would their struggle be attended with less 
trouble and far l«ss bloodshed ; for he is a < Jackson' of a 
fellow, and that speaks volumes to an American. 

The second, which may take" place, is, in the Mexican 
people of every grade laying aside all other political con- 
siderations for the time being, as matters of less moment, 
until the Texian Americans are subdued ; not as citizens 
struggling for their constitutional rights, but as foreigners, 
who have by their perverse conduct, forfeited every claim 
to protection from the civil law ; and therefore must ei- 
ther come under military control, or altogether be expelled 
from the Republic. In the case of a military power and 
a Territorial jurisdiction, Texas will once more fall back 
to its wilderness state : and in the matter of expulsion, 
ten innocent persons would suffer for one that was guilty I 

The tJiird, which might happen, €ind the most to be 
deprecated, is in the Government of the United States 
getting themselves involved, by the supporters of, and the 
inhabitants of Texas, in their controversy with the Govern- 

x2 



270 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ment of Mexico ; vso that the result would be, a general war 
between the two Repifblics ! In such a case of conflicting 
matter, the event would be deplorable indeed — on the one 
hand a powerful Government of both men and means — 
and on the other hand, a Government not only supported 
by its wealthy Land holders and rich priesthood, united to- 
gether at this time, by both bigotry and zeal in their great 
national cause ; but by English intrigue backed by En- 
glish money — gained through the influence of England's 
exclusive privileges. 

Leaving these things in the hands of an overruling 
Providence, we shall conclude our considerations on the 
inhabitants of Texas, by allowing to them, their political 
union, and natural strength to the fullest extent. There- 
fore, say, out of 35,000 Americans, there will be 7,000 
men of war ; and from the 5,000 Spaniards among them, 
1,000 fighting men ; with, say, of friendly Indians, 2,000 
warriors ; making in all 10,000 effective men! Bat to sus 
tain this amount of disposable force at all times, there 
must be 5,000 volunteers continually under arms ! For 
there will be deficiencies, by death and other casual 
disabilities; by the insecurity and unsteadiness of the In 
dian calculation ; by the want of energy; and will among 
the Texian Spaniards ; by the family alarms and scat- 
tered situations of the Americans ; by the necessity of 
attending to agricultural pursuits and stock raising ; and 
by superintending and controlling the some 2,000 dis- 
affected negroes among them ! Honi soit qui mal y pense. 



i 

BOOK IX. 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

Having, in the preceding sections of this work, made 
an impartial although feeble attempt to answer for, and de- 
lineate those matters and things, just as they are — just as 
they have been — and just as they will, or may be, in the 
Territory that was — Province that is — and State that 
will be of Texas; I^shall therefore conclude as briefly as 
possible these reflections, which naturally arise from what 
has been discussed, and from what I and others have felt, 
when all the attention and vigor of the settlers appeared 
to be — as it ought to he, directed to their own individual 
and private concerns : and what the reader will yet, by 
the blessing of God, find them and their country to he 
when the collector of these sketches and the calamities 
which occasioned them, will only serve to < adorn a tale or 
point a moral.' 

EMIGRATION. 
~ Though dear experience has taught that a man must 
drink of a mixed cup, no matter where he may be located, 
yet as he has the power of locomotion, and reason given 
to him by his Maker, and the full exercise of them allowed 
him by his peers, he is in that case (more particularly af- 
ter he has left the home of his fathers) to blame, if he does 
not finally fix himself in that country and society, wherein 
he meets with the greatest probability of ending his days 
in comparative ease and comfort; as a very short time, if 
he is a man of urbanity, (especially in a nevv^ country) 
will make him as agreeably situated among strangers, and 
as much at home with them, as ever he was with his na- 
tive friends: Athough at the same time it would. i)e far 
better if many, very many of those who have left their 
homes and the land of their birth, had never started. 

271 



272 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Believe me, young men, (the old need no monitor) for I 
have been in not a few countries, and do know that Nature 
has so ordered it, that none shall enjoy life in all its bear- 
ings, so well as those who end it where it first began. 
Solomon has said — and his sayings never can become ob- 
solete, 'As a bird that wandereth from its nest, so is a 
man that wandereth from his place :' and there is an old 
saying, whose truth becomes as self-evident, 'on a rolling 
stone grows no moss' — 'however much dirt it may con- 
tract,' say I. But as there is no rule without an excep- 
tion, there can be no evil without its corresponding good; 
and necessity at times, as well as in cases, has no law! 

In fulfilment of one or other of those truths, have 
many families, and even individuals, sat down in Texas j 
and for such reasons, are many still looking forward to it, 
(with this proviso, peace,) besides those who are impress- 
ed with a far different motive from either of the above men- 
tioned; but who will not long have the same chance as 
herelofore of receiving land ; as it must shorth^ be dispo- 
sed of, by reason of the past influx of persevering and in 
many instances substantial yeomanry, who poured into it 
day by day, without regard to those lets which kept back 
so many, of those who are equally good, but who are more 
timorous in venturing into such a vortex of political agita- 
tion as has for years reigned in that otherwise delightful 
country. - 

Such as have reflected thus, will be no losers in the 
end, even if they should not go to it for some time to come; 
as they will, when all things are taken into consideration, 
be as much benefited as ever the first settlers were, or ev- 
er will he; for two reasons out of three which might be 
produced. First then, the holders of government deeds 
must, before their land is of much value to themselves, dis- 
pose of a part, and that a considerable part too, before the 
country can be so filled up as to make the balance retain- 
ed in their hands of much consequence. Secondly, by 
its filling up v/ith the hardy and the fearless, there will be 
the more security for the timid and the weak, against the 
scalping knife and the tomahawk of the remorseless sa- 
vage; security, life's security being the charm which en- 



EMIGRATION. 273 

hances the value of property, in all frontier countries. 
Therefore, according to a man's feelings of security, 
will be his independency; leaving it for those who are be- 
hind him in worldly advantages, to sell at a lower price to 
those new comers, who are not able to pay for the rich or 
secure lands, and have been too late to receive any from 
the agents of government. But when the intending pur- 
chaser learns that there is a large scope of country, which 
will forever be vacant between the lines of locations, be- 
sides the sandy post-oak and muskit ridges, which divide 
the large water courses from one another, and on which 
water courses with their branches the farmers generally 
settle under the shade of live-oak, walnut, and pecan groves, 
so as to have the water and timbered bottoms in the rear, 
with the prairie and sea breezes if possible in the front; 
he will at once see that his live-stock has an equal chance, 
even if he should only have one hundred acres of ar- 
able land, with the stock of those who possess thousands — 
a sufficient fence only creating exclusive right to pastur- 
age. While at the same time he runs not the same risk, 
nor ever experiences the excimciating feelings of the first 
settler; who in order to get in some measure rid of them, 
had to dispose of that very land, on very reasonable terms 
too, which was finally paid for with the inestimable blood 
of some of his relations — nay perhaps with the life of an 
affectionate 'partner, or a beloved child 1 

Further, he may purchase a part of that property, now 
descended to the child by the death of a once loving father, 
whose life was sacrificed in defence of his possessions, in 
order as far as paternal affection could accomplish it, to se- 
cure to his children a future independency ; as that parent 
well knew, to say the least of it, that it was not only a 
good farming country, but a never failing pasture one ; and 
that out of all the methods, ever taken by man, whereby 
he might gain his support, there are none that excel the 
good old patriarchal way, of flocks and herds; which comes* 
the nearest to nature of any, and of course the nearest to 
happiness — the end we all aim at, from the philosopher 
to the clown, however unreasonable the means may be, 
which we adopt in pursuit of it. 



274 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Ill following nature's rule by the guidance of reason's 
law, we are led to admire that order of Providence, which 
has given to the minds of men such plasticity, as enables 
them to bend by degrees to their circumstances, however 
irksome at first they may both feel and appear; and has al- 
so provided a something to please, and a happiness attain- 
able, in every virtuous condition wherein a man can be placed 
or occupied. Therefore no place is long enjoyed, until it ap- 
pears to the possessor as among the first and to him the 
best; particularly if it is in accordance with that feeling 
which reigns in the breast of ali.iost every human being, 
for something akin to the country of his youth, and the 
■ scenes of his childhood, leading him instinctively as it were, 
after he has left the home of his nativity, per fas et nefas, 
to give it the preference. Therefore, do the Emigrants 
from the lower sections of the United States, and else- 
where, prefer the level parts of Texas; and those from the 
highlands, the .rolling or mountainous parts: while at the 
same time each division has its peculiar benefits and its 
serious evils. 

Accordingly I never saw a selection without its parti 
cular beauties and defects. If rich land, it was deficient 
in timber, with perhaps but little water on it; oi* if well 
watered, it was deficient in arable land, with perhaps but 
little timber: or if well watered, well timbered, and supe- 
rior land, it was deficient in elevation, with perhaps but 
little pasture. Or if good pasture, it was deficient in 
every thing else, and perhaps but lillle of it tillable; or if 
tillable, it was deficient in situation, and perhaps but little 
richness in it: or if superior pasture, pleasantly situated, 
and rich, it was too rolling and dry, to be of much ser- 
vice to the agriculturist. Having met with such a 
veriety of locations, and each in some degree different 
from the other, the reader may well suppose, that the 
settlers, as to natural benefits, are very much on an 
equality. They are so; but in their own estimation 
they arc not. 

For I never met with a house holder, who did not ap- 
pear to prefer his own situation to that of any other; per- 
haps as much so, by the gingular disposition of his own 



EMIGRATION. 876 

mind, as from any intrinsic value in the difference; 
pleasing himself with his condition Uy the force of hi^ own 
argumentative comparison: for if he had a few difficulties 
in his present position, yet he considered his neighbor to 
have as many, and perhaps morej and that he himself pos- 
sessed as many advantages, if not more than he did. 

And these considerations, whether always tenable or 
not, encourage him to continue and persevere, in order 
that he and his may, in time to come, reap a threefold 
benefit for all their past sufferings and present difficulties ; 
firmly believing that a persevering increase of civilized 
society, with those improvements which must follow a pa- 
tient and steady industry, will eithej mitigate and soften, 
or finally subdue every asperity, so as in a great measui^e 
in a coming, and it may be no very distant day, to make 
the country in all its bearings and tendencies, an epitome 
of Canaan's oHce happy land! Ergo esto jjerpetua ! Even 
as the beauty and attraction of their country's scenery, 
which is as indescribable by the visitor, as it is incompre- 
hensible to the stranger. 

Who can look on the rich and ever varying display — 
who can live in the midst of one vast flower garden, and 
inhale with every breath the mingled perfumes of a richly 
stocked field of gay and luxuriant flowers, without receiv- 
ing an enjoyment no less pure and refined, than difficult to 
express; feelings unique and original; dreams of youthful 
visions realized ? where often, ' as in Eden, man feels alone 
with the God of nature,' and seems in a peculiar manner 
to enjoy the rich bounties of heaven, in common with all 
created things: the profound stillness, the gonial sun and 
soft air — all are impressive, and are calculated, both to 
delight the imagination, and to fill the heart with religious 
emotions ! 

A traveler must be familiar indeed with the uninhabited 
parts of a Texas country, where no tokens of neglect are 
to be seen, no signs of nature's rudeness and roughness to 
be looked for in a wilderness, if he believes not that the 
industrious hand of man had passed on before him, remov- 
ing fallen trunks and branches from the neat borders of 
the woods, and had checked the growth of weeds and 



jJ76 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

bushes, which are so forward to rise and deform a lonely 
lawnf thereby making it, even after repeated experience, 
still more difficult to believe, that the peace which reigns 
around him is the tranquility of desertion, and that the 
general stillness is the silence of death. The universal 
quiet seems ever ready to be interrupted, by the distant 
low of cattle, the whetting of the scythe, or the bell of a 
village church; each of which is in accordance with the 
scene, especially the last; for the calmness of all things^ 
is well calculated to remind one of the Sabbath, and if he 
has formerly been a church going man, to bring him In 
foro conscientice! 

He is thus startled, and that too perhaps in the midst of 
one of those singular patches so often to be found, over- 
spread by mimosas, which, as his horse passes through 
them, draw up their leaves and drop their branches, when- 
ever they are brushed by his feet, thus making a withered 
trace on the surface, which is but gradually obliterated, as 
these timid plants regain their courage, raise their stems 
again and expand their withered leaves. These plants 
whose sensitiveness had thus been overcome, were ren- 
dered distinguishable from others to his eye and to his 
thought, by the exposure they made of the lower side of 
their leaves when they folded them up, that side being of 
a much lighter hue than the upper; and, phenomenon like^ 
thus shrinking in advance befcre he has quite reached 
them, — but, on natural principles, by the shock they 
receive through the long horizontal roots which connect 
them together. 

Let us view this traveler as a stranger, just emerged 
from his lonely and secluded situation, into the presence 
of a Texian society, (previous to the year lti32, and ever 
after, when free from a state of political war!) where he 
meets with an intelligent and communicative friend, from 
whom he wishes to be informed more particularly, as ta 
the nature and state of that society. He will then learn 
that it is composed out of many incongruities; and that it 
will take some time for people gathered from the north 
and from the south, from the east and from the west, to 
assimilate, and adapt themselves to new situations ; or be 



EMIGRATION. 277 

entirely freed from the suspicion of a stranger's motives, 
who pretends to settle among them; having been so ac- 
customed to the appearance of fugitives from justice, that 
the inquiry is often made, ^ what did he do that made him 
leave home?' or < what have you come to Texas for?' 

Notwithstanding this state of things, the good of the 
public and o£ each individual inhabitant of the province is 
so evidently dependent on the public morals, that all ap- 
pear ready to discountenance and punish crimes; whether 
by assisting the demands of justice, emanating from the 
lawful authorities of another country; or of supporting it 
in their own. Even men who have been expatriated by 
fear of justice, are here among the last who would be dis- 
posed to shield a culprit^ proved o'uilty of a wilful crime 
against life or property. I can say more ; for if I may 
judge from repeated evidences of general honesty and 
every day confidence between man and man in their pri- 
vate concerns of life, I should think money as safe without 
lock and key as in any other country; and I am confident, 
that if stores were left in some parts of the United States 
without a watch, and exposed as many are in Texas, they 
would be robbed one of the tirst nights. 

Tliere are no poor people here, if land makes rich ; and 
none rich, if money is wealth. The poor and the rich, to 
use the correlatives where distinction there is none, get 
the same quantity of land on arrival; and if they do not 
continue equal, it is for want of good management on the 
one part, or superior industry and sagacity on the other. By 
the land which they receive, all can be busy and happy. 
None need meddle with the aftairs of their neighbors, be- 
cause they have enough to do in taking care of their own. 
The common concerns of life are sufficiently exciting to 
keep the spirits buoyant, and prevent every thing like 
ennui: therefore, artificial wants are entirely forgotten, in 
the view of real ones; and self, eternal self, does not fill 
up the round of existence — even privations become pleas- 
ures. People grow ingenious in overcoming difficulties. 
Many latent faculties are developed: they discover in 
themselves powers they did not suspect themselves of 
possessing. Equally surprised and delighted at the dia* 

Y 



278 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

covery, they apply to their labors with all that energy and 
spirit which new hope and conscious strength inspire pro 
re nata. Industrious farmers certainly do well in Texas 
and cannot fail^ of success, if abundant crops and a ready 
market with high prices will satisfy them. Substantial 
planters, with capital and hands, may enlarge their opera- 
tions to any extent, and with enormous profits. 

INDUCEMENTS TO EMIGRANTS. 

Among the inducements to emigration presented by 
this interesting country, the facility and cheapness of ac- 
cess to it, are by no means inconsiderable ; as for instance, 
a passage from New York to Galveston may be effected 
as soon, as cheaply, and as pleasantly, as to New Orleans ; 
and vessels of any size that can reach the one place, may have 
access to the other. But Galveston, as a harbor, is much 
superior to New Orleans. The depth of water on the res- 
pective bars is about equal; but Galveston has an im 
mense advantage in lying directly on the Gulf, and not re- 
quiring the costly aid of steam tow-boats, to conduct ship- 
ping to its destined haven. Again, the situation of Gal- 
veston for foreign commerce, is very felicitous. The Gulf 
of Mexico is spread out before it; Cuba is near at hand; 
and all the islands of the West Indies are within a few 
days sail; as also the entire coast of Central America, of 
Venezuela, and of Colombia. Further, the current of 
the Gulf-stream, the great River of the Ocean, is at hand, 
for every port of the country; always ready to sweep 
her vessels, with accelerated rapidity, to the Eastern At- 
lantic: the ports of Matamoros, Tampico, Alverado, Vera 
Cruz, and Campeachy, all within the Government of 
Mexico, to be supposed always open and free to the com- 
merce of her own subjects; affording a rich and extensive 
market for the lumber, provisions, and to some extent, for 
the cotton of Texas; while the horses, mules, black-cattle, 
hogs, and sheep of the country, will always find good mar- 
kets in the West Indian islands, and in Louisiana. 

Now though all these considerations are good, great, and 
glorious for Texas; and though population she wants, sober, 
industrious, virtuous, republican population j with this she 



INDUCEMENTS TO EMIGRANTS. 279 

will compete with the choicest section of the globe, in all 
that is requisite to secure the happiness and prosperity of 
man ! Nevertheless, those persons who are established in 
comfort and competency, with an ordinary portion of do- 
mestic happiness ; who have never been far from home, 
and are excessively attached to personal ease ; who shrink 
from hardship and danger; and those who, being accus- 
tomed to a regular routine of prescribed employment in a 
city, know not how to act on emergencies, or adapt them- 
selves to all kinds of circumstances, had better stay where 
they are. 

There is no better advice than ' to let well enough 
alone.' Ipso facto, all changes may be for the worse as 
well as better; and what we are used to, though not so 
good as might be, may suit us better. Happiness is rela- 
tive: a high standard for one person, is a low one for an- 
other; and what one prizes, another may think worthless. 
So that even conceding all the advantages I have claimed 
for the province of Texas, it does not follow that the hap- 
piness of all would be promoted, by emigrating to that 
country. No, it would depend upon his present circum- 
stances, and upon the spirit of the man. 

He whose hopes of rising to independence in life, by 
honorable exertion, have been blasted by disappointment; 
whose ambition has been thwarted by untoward circum- 
stances; who longs only for some ample field on which to 
lay out his strength ; v/ho does not hanker after society, 
nor sigh for the vanished illusions of life ; who has a fund 
of resources within himself, and a heart to trust in God and 
his own exertions; who is not peculiarly sensitive to petty 
inconveniences, but can bear privations and make sacri- 
fices of personal comfort; such a person will do well to set- 
tle accounts at home, and begin life anew in Texas. He 
will find there abundant exercise for all his faculties, a new 
stimulant to his exertions, and a new current for his affec- 
tions. He may be obliged to labor hard, but riches are a 
very certain reward of his exertions and cares. He may 
be generous, without fear of ruin. He will find society 
in nature, and repose in solitude ; health in exertion, and 
happiness in virtuous occupation; and if he has a just 



1 



2S0 HISTORY OF TEXAS, 

view of ambition, he will glow vvith generous pride, while 
he is marking out an untrodden path; acting in an unhack- 
oeyed sphere, and founding- for himself, and his children 
after him, a permanent and noble indcpendence. 

Therefore he that can, should, or will go, to the prov- 
ince or state of Texas, must know that the rate of ex- 
change, operates very favorably to emigration. By ta- 
king such paper as passes current with the banks of New 
Orleans, they will receive from six to eight per cent on it 
from the merchants there: so much is clear gain, provided 
they spend it in the country. Money is scarce in Texas; 
but all that money can purchase, and much that it can 
7iever buy, is plenty. The poor man of industry should 
know that he can get along vrithout it, or at least with very 
little. But those who are so fortunate as to have it, loan 
it at a very high interest, on real estate security : fifteen, 
twenty, and even twenty-five per cent is the common rate 
of interest ! 

It would be well for the emigrant to saprifice nothing if 
possible, (except live stock) which he or his family may 
possess, provided the transportation thereof exceed not its 
first value; because all the domestic articles he can take 
will afterwards be worth more than the same amount of 
money whatever it may be. For the people of Texas, 
as yet, (and that yet will not soon be over,) have little 
time for trade, far less for the fine arts; every body being 
occupied with his domestic arrangements and plans for 
supplying his immediate wants- It is found easier to raise 
or manufacture such articles as are needed in a family, 
rough and clumsy as they may be, or to do without, than 
to obtain them from abroad, or employ an individual to 
scour the country in search of such as may be desired. 
People live too far apart, to beg or borrow often; and few 
trouble themselves to send any thing to market, though 
they have ever so much to spare. They had rather give 
to you of their abundance, if you will send to their doors; 
and few are allowed to go hungry or empty away, hospi- 
tality being one of the finest traits in the Texian charac- 
ter. The towns are but too seldom at hand, to obtain sup- 
plies from; while some are too proud, some too lazy, and 



INDUCEMENTS TO EMIGRANTS. 281 

most too indifferent to trouble themselves about the mat- 
ter. But if any settler should want an article of first 
necessity, such as coffee for instance, which is much used, 
they will send some of their chickens, butter, eggs, &c. 
to a neighboring family newly arrived, and propose (if they 
have not been applied to) an exchange, as most new com- 
ers take with them some stores. 

There is much of this kind of barter, provisions being 
so much more plenty than money. Let a person be pos- 
sessed of any good and substantial article, he will have 
nearly as many offers for it in the produce of the country, 
as visiters ; so that he may, if so disposed, use its real value 
twice 9ver in provisions. Nobody, however, fares very 
sumptuously: the new comers have not the articles, and 
the old residents have grown indifferent to the use of them. 
Besides, many of them are rich enough, without depend- 
ing upon the sale of small articles, which they consider 
pitiful for an income. And there is a peculiar feeling 
existing among all about game : no one will receive mo- 
ney for any thing taken by his gun, but will cheerfully 
give you as much as you will take; and feel insulted, if 
you should refuse, or attempt to return the compliment 
except in kind. 

To the encouragement of Texian republican emigra- 
tion, the enemies of the constitution and laws of that con- 
federation, were never able to have the ascendency long 
at a time, and are becoming of less consequence every 
day: so that their principles in the Republic of Mexico 
will, sooner than the prejudiced mind is willing to allow, 
become malum prohibitum. In proof thereof, the general 
and state governments, throughout all their changes, have 
never abrogated one law, which a Texasian had a right to 
require in continuance, nor disannulled one right or privi- 
lege, given at any time to an American settler. Inas- 
much then, as they went freely and voluntarily to the 
country, through an invitation of that country's govern- 
ment, promising to all who would come on terms specified, 
certain privileges, which have been given and assuredly 
confirmed beyond a doubt, as securely as the gift of one 
mortal can be conveyed to another, to be held and enjoy- 

y2 



:g82 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ed by them and their posterity throughout all generations : 
those, therefore^ who thought proper, and were admitted, 
to receive the gift of government, took willingly the oath 
of allegiance, to support the constitution and laws of the 
Mexican federal states, as free from violation, as they were 
thus obligated to obey to the utmost of their power their 
lawful demands. And most assuredly they ought to re- 
spect that oath! so as to consider themselves bound to pro- 
tect and uphold the constitution of their adopted country, 
with heart and hand, against all its violators, whether 
they may be foreign or domestic! 

Besides being thus bound by sacred ties^ by honor and 
good faith, they are also boimd to have respect to the wel- 
fare of their children, so that they may be enabled to en- 
joy in peace their wide extended domains, by reaping boun- 
tifully those benefits which these domains are so well cal- 
culated to bring forth,- which has been ali*eady amply de- 
monstrated and partially described : while at the same time 
a family's square league of land has not and cannot cost 
them more (always excepting American impositions,) than 
the small sum of one hundred and twenty dollars, in ten 
different payments: to wit, two dollars for drawing and 
recording their application j one dollar for administering 
the oath of allegiance; five dollars for a certificate from 
the Empresario, or from an Ayuntamiento; six dollai-s for 
the translating Clerk's services; from fifteen to twenty 
dollars according to the value of the league, for the Com- 
missioner's signature to the deed; forty-eight dollai*s for sur- 
veying; ten dollars to government at the end of the third 
year, and at the end of the fifth, ten dollars more ; then 
ten dollars on receiving the final deed at the end of the 
sixth yetir; and from first to last eight dollars for govern- 
ment stamps. A quarter of a league costs more in pro- 
portion to the receiver, averaging, according to quality 
and location, from thirty to fifty dollars. The government 
being well aware of the advantages which, if possible^ 
would be taken of their generosity, and that the design of 
settling the province with honest and industrious citizens, 
might be frustrated by unprincipled speculators, published 
in full the principles whereby the landholder should be 



lNDUCEMENTS to emigrants. 283 

governed; as they were detenrnncd that no ncn-resident 
should be benefited by their deed ©f gift. Therefore do 
they bind the receiver of land within six years after his 
conditional deed, to have certain improvements on that 
land; and unless he can show these improvements, which 
are neither numerous nor difficult, he can by no means leave 
die country more than eight months at one time. Nor can he 
by ?,ny means whatsoever dispose of the land to benefit 
^fee purchaser, provided he himself, or his lawfully begot- 
ten heit is not on the spot to pay over the aforesaid instal- 
ments, and at the end of the probationary trial receive the 
final deed,* as no will or conveyance made or devised, 
before the last deed is given, can withhold the land from 
reverting back to govi3rnment, who, in the absence of the 
donee or his heir, becomes again the lawful owner! 

Upon such conditions then, how reprehensible has been 
the conduct of those men who have taken advantage of 
such citizens of the northern United States and elsewhere, 
as were ig-norant of the Mexican government's regulations 
with respect to land, by selling to them their first deeds — 
yea perhaps, only their certificates from the Empresarios, 
sliowing that they thought by the qualifications given in, 
they were entitled to receive land. Such sellers of such 
scrip ! might upon the same principle rob a man of the 
amount he thus receives!! and he well knows it — besides 
the expenses of his credulous victim, in pursuit of what 
by him is supposed a fortune! But, truly and fairly, 
if he should even get the same land, he must take it out 
of the government office on his own footing, and at his 
own individual expense; without a single reduction on 
account of that which he may have previously paid to any 
o^her man whatsoever. 

There is not an actual settler in the province but gives 
his full assent to this order of things^* nor could any honest 
man be against such a beneficial arrangement, when he 
takes into consideration the serious dangers the frontier 
settlers are exposed to by the savage foe; on the contrary 
rather wishes from his heart the law against non-residents 
had been still more strict; as many, too many, who have 
their grants laid on the outskirts of the colonies, have as 



284 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

soon as they received their conditional deeds returned 
to the sea-board settleieents of the province, or perhaps to 
the United States of the north, until as they say, (but some- 
times they have got bit by so doing,) ' the country fills up, 
which in all probability it will do, before the probationaiy 
six years are expired — and the last one of these is time 
sufficient for making those improvements which are neces- 
sary, in order to secure to us our final deed I' 

To such a height of late have these sentiments been 
carried, that had it not been for those young men who set- 
tled and afterwards remained on the frontiers, not a fami 
ly could have stopped, to give such selfish and uncharita- 
ble reasoners a hope of their ever succeeding. Wisely then 
did the legislature make provision for such young men, to 
receive three-quarters of a league more, in the event of 
their marrying in the country ; and, if they should marry 
a native Mexican, they would be entitled to receive, over 
and above a family's complement, one league and a labor; 
(the labor is 177 English acres.) What a fortune at some 
future day! when the country shall be purged of the 
Acephali ! ! 

As a confirmation of this fortune, land on the Gulf coast 
and in those places measurably secure, is selling in farms, 
(to say nothing about town lots or choice building 
places,) at from one to five dollars per acre, Spanish mea- 
sure ; so that a young or single man's quarter of land is 
equal to 6,330 dollars, at the highest price, which will 
soon be the lowest, and a family league of land to the pretty 
little sum of 25,325 dollars! And I do assure my reader, 
that there are many land holders, even as things are, v/ho 
would not take twice five dollars for their land; truly ap- 
preciating its value, by those calculations which have 
been made and proved in all older settled countries, 
where the once poor man's children and grand children, 
have become by his prudence and foresight among the 
wealthiest of the land. 

We must acknowledge, although with regret, that the 
past commotions and the present difficulties of that coun- 
try, have been ruinous in the extreme; blasting to its 
prosperity, and galling to the feelings of the upright and 



LAND IMPOSITIONS?. 285 

sanguine settler: and we may safely say, that no greater 
calamity could have befallen them than the intrusion of 
party politics among them. Nothing has more inevitably 
retarded the development of the resources of the coun- 
try, checked emigration, and in every way thwarted the be- 
aeyolent purposes of heaven, than party injustice, party 
jealousies, and party intrigue — a word to the wise,- ecce 
lignum.' 

But we shall allow them once moi\e freed from their 
mountains of political trouble, and enjoying themselves 
in the sunny vales of peace and contentment; will they 
then be independent? No! Negro slavery is of too 
inuch importance, to give that blessing to the people 
v/ho indulges therein. The existing constitution and laws 
totally prohibit this worst of evils ; but, like c\'Cf.y other law 
made with an eye to the good of that country, it was taken 
advantage of by the cupidity of the Americans. Should 
the wise policy of Mexico on that hea.d be abandoned, and 
Texas become what Louisiana now is, the receptacle of 
the redundant and Jail-delivered slaves of other countries, all 
its energies would be paralyzed; and whatever oppressions 
may hereafter arise either from abroad or at home, must 
he endured; for the country would require a prop to lean 
iipon, and from necessity would he forever dependent! 

LAND IMPOSITIONS. 

As I have heretofore shown that the greatest enemy 
which the simple hearted American Texasian settler has 
iiad to contend with, has been American! the reader being 
acquainted with the political evils produced by this adver- 
sary, it becomes me now, as an impartial historian, to lead 
Jiim into the meaning of the word imposition, made use 
of when speaking of the payments to be made for govern- 
ment lands in Texas. In order to do this satisfactorily, 
and lead him into a knowledge of those things necessarily 
'Connected with the country, and the matter in hand, we 
must go back (always avoiding information already given,) 
to the first cause, from whence the effect took its rise, 
\gleaning our intelligence from the joint efforts of our own 
and other men's experience. 



286 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Anterior to the independence of Mexico, in 1821, under 
the vice regal government, Texas was almost an unknown 
wilderness. Foreigners of all nations were prohibited 
under the penalty of an indefinite imprisonment, at the ca- 
price of a petty military despot, from trespassing on its 
soil : and the few native subjects that had sufficient enter- 
prise to encounter the hazards and privations of a new set- 
tlement, were constrained, by their habitual indolence and 
timidity, to restrict themselves to compact habitations, 
around the garrisoned or fortified spots. Under these cir- 
cumstances, the village of San Antonio (Bexar,) La Ba- 
hia (Galiod,) Refugio (Espiritu Santo,) and Nacogdoches, 
were commenced, and small parcels of ground in the vi- 
cinity of each were brought into cultivation. 

San Antonio had the advantage of not only being the 
key to the country, but by the lands of its vicinity being 
irrigatable from the San Antonio river. To facilitate this 
purpose, a low dam of stone is thrown across the river, 
which diverts a portion of the water into a small canal 
leading to the cultivated grounds, which in general are 
rich. The principal articles cultivated by the Spanish 
Mexicans are corn, sugar cane, beans, and other vegeta- 
bles. Vast quantities of this sugar, in the form of small 
conical loaves, find a market among the American settlers. 
At some future period the inhabitants of that jurisdiction 
will have the advantage of supplying all Texas with rice, 
or at least raising as much of that article as they have a 
mind to; for with great care and with a trifling expense, 
more than two hundred thousand acres of land might 
be irrigated, at and below this place, as the San An- 
tonio seldom or never overflows its banks, nor is exposed 
to sudden or violent freshets, its source being within nine 
miles of Bexar, and there is not sufficient space for any 
dangerous accumulation of water. From its fountains the 
San Antonio bursts at once into a river, and its crystal 
waters flow oflf with a rapid current over a bed of lime 
stone. 

The country at large was left to its primitive condition, 
and remained so, without an effort on the part of the gov- 
ernment to reclaim it further, or 9,t least with any successj 



,LAND IMPOSITIONS. 287 

until the final subversion of the regal power, and the 
emancipation of Mexico from the improvident dominion of 
Spain. Soon after the institution of the present federal gov- 
ernment, the settlement of Texas became a favorite point 
of national policy, and laws of colonization were enacted; 
expressly to effectuate that object. Under those laws a 
large portion of the country (in fact all worth notice) has 
been granted, in districts of various dimensions, to 
Empresarios or founders of colonies for settlement by for- 
eigners. 

Moses Austin, a native of Durham, Connecticut, first form- 
ed the project of introducing settlers from the United States j 
and in 1821 was authorized by the Mexican authorities of 
that time to introduce three hundred families into Texas. 
In consequence, however, of fatigues and exposures, in- 
curred during his journey through the wilderness from 
Bexar to the United States, he soon after died, leaving an 
injunction on his son, Colonel Stephen F. Austin, to prose- 
cute his plans. Accordingly he commenced a settlement; 
on the Brazos river in December, 1821. 

Colonel Austin has proved himself, both in point of 
talents and sound judgment, perfectly qualified for the ar- 
duous undertaking he took in hand, by the general confi- 
dence of all the intelligent and worthy part of the settlers 
in his colony; by being the mover, either directly qr indi- 
rectly, of the whole North American and Irish emigration 
to the country; by having more power with the Mexican 
Government than any other Empresario in the province, 
and by being the only man in Texas who kcis been and 
is now calculated to save it from destruction! 

Sound policy, in unison with what nature has done for 
Texas, in case of war with their own Government, must 
ultimately prevail. The Rio Grande del Noi-te — a river 
but sparingly supplied with water for its length, few 
branches on either side, with narrow timbered bottoms, 
and bordered through most of its course, by lands naturally 
barren — presents a continuous, dreary, wide chasm, of 
some hundreds of miles on either side, which affords no 
inducements to occupancy or cultivation. Thus here has 
nature seemed to have prescribed a space, almost as 



288 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

distinguishable and difficult to overcome, as a range of 
cloud-capped mountains, or a broad expanse of fathomless 
waters. 

Admitting this barrier to be passed and its every obsta- 
cle surmounted by the enemies of Texas; still extensive 
prairies after prairies, (divided from one another by deep 
water courses and timbered bottoms, where the Americans 
seizing the advantage will be as completely sheltered from 
danger as the Spaniards will be exposed to it,) have to be 
encountered before they pierce into the vulnerable part 
of their opponents' country. Surely then, if the saying is 
true, ' that five Indians can chase twenty Washinango sol- 
diers,' and ' thatfive American Texasians can chase twenty 
Indian warriors,' then they need not dread the whole com- 
bined force of Mexico's Zambo population in arms, nor 
have much fear of the result vvhen brought in contact with 
the many thousands of their best troops, civilized Indians, 
and Castillian descendants : provided, always, that they can 
and do uphold the entire force (which has been s^o much 
boasted of,) of ten thousand men I Leaving this war to 
be followed up by a people, where, although one will find 
every grade of moral turpitude, and every kind of inl'ti- 
lectual ascendency among them — from the ignorant and 
superstitious back wood's man of the northwestern wilds, 
to the learned and enlightened citizen of the southeastern 
emporium; yet, through the influence of that milk of re- 
publicanism, which all have, from tlie lowest to the high- 
est, imbibed from the breasts of their patriotic mothers of 
the North, they cannot be supposed to rest satisfied, until 
the leading object of their solicitude is obtained. The 
germ of freedom carefully nursed must have the ascendant, 
and lead them as it did the first settlers, however they 
may square their actions to their situations, fully acq;Uaint- 
ed with the burden and the oppressors who lay it on? 
whether by the smooth faced optimacy of their own coun- 
try, or by the alleged powers giverr and taken by those of 
another. 

The body polity of Texas at the beginning being thus 
situated, it is reasonable to suppose that there v.erc de- 
ceptions practised, which, although often detected, could 



LAND IMPOSITIONS. 289 

neither be altered nor amended by a private member of 
the community; who well knew that he had either to put 
up with them, or lose that advantage which he expected 
to receive afterwards, by complying with a present impo- 
sition from those who were by Government, or otherwise, 
for the time being, in that remote corner of the confedera- 
tion, « clothed with a little brief authority.' Therefore, 
had families as well as individuals, settled in the province, 
to console themselves with the fox's reflection, who was 
fain to shelter himself from the dogs in the midst of the 
brambles; — until they could be enabled to contend with 
effect, through the all-powerful influence of that ^root of 
all evil, money!' and also, 'that slamen of all goody 
money!' for those rights they were by law entitled to, and 
out of which they had been choused by their American 
fellow citizens. 

There are but few indeed! who, at present possessing 
land in Texas which was given to them as a settlement 
right from Government, can say that they received it upon 
the precise terms promised them by that Government; 
although all without exception will declare, that that very 
Government, under all its changes and in all its ditticulties, 
faithfully fulfilled its contracts with the Texas settlers, and 
at the same tim.e did all that was possible to be done, in 
order to prevent others from speculating on them. But 
the law was never made that could not be broken, and that 
too, often with impunity; especially if the law has been 
promulgated in an unknown tongue, and its interpretation 
left at the mercy of the one sided interest: then Cui bono 
stands the verdict? 

Empresariog, who received grants from the Mexican 
Government, were to settle upon these grants so many 
families in a given time ; selecting these families and giv- 
ing them certificates of Citizenship, according to the laws 
made and provided; which certificates should be handed 
over to the Commissioner, when he appeared and was 
ready to give the people their land deeds. In order that 
these Government contractors should be remunerated, for 
the trouble and expense thus incurred by them, they had 
the right of selecting and setting apart for their own 

Z 



290 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

special benefit Jive premium leagues of land for every 
hundred families thus settled in conformity with the arti- 
cles of colonization ; which admit the four quarters of land 
given to as many individuals to reckon as one family. 
Of course it was never expected that they should exact 
any thing on their own private account, from the people, 
while in the performance of that duty so amply paid for. 

Some settlei-s would give 25 dollars over and above the 
ordinary charges — some 50 dollars — others through one 
pretence or another 75 or 100 dollars, in order to get such 
and such lands, pretended to be kept by promise to such 
and such men; although the law was explicit in that re- 
spect — <of two men equally desirous of possessing the 
same land, the preference shall be given by the Empresarios 
to that man on the gi-ound fully qualified to demand his 
immediate rights under this colonization law,' Others al- 
lowed themselves to be gulled so far, without knowing why 
or wherefore, except it was some Government considera- 
tion, to promise by note of hand an exti-a twelve and one 
half cent per acre, or 5,56 dollars per league. As soon 
as the government was made acquainted with such and 
many other impositions, they issued a circular declaring 
such conduct unlawful, and the bonds already given but 
not cancelled, null and void ! 

Since a court of equity has been established in Texas, 
those quirks and turns which were taken openly or cov- 
ertly, in order to trick the intending settler out of his lit- 
tle cash, have in a great measure been done away with ; 
and the same necessity for such conduct in the Govern- 
ment contractors does not now, by the exti-a demands and 
prices given for lands, exist. Considering these ambitious 
enterprising men to be without capital at the commence- 
ment of their colonizing exeHions, and that they had to 
live, expensively too, while they were thus employed, be- 
fore they could be benefited by those lands they received 
from Government; Ave are obliged to confess, knowing the 
general course of fallen humanity, that the wonder lies 
in their not having done worse than they did, with the same 
power. And we are obliged to acknowledge, in addition 
to our confession, that the many who cried out the loudest 



gBMMHMI^a 



LAND IMPOSITIONS. 291 

against the chicanery of iheir weighty opponents, while 
they themselves possessed but little power, v*'ould, on a 
reverse of the case, be very apt to do the same thing, and 
perhaps woi^e with the same chance. Having thus glanced 
at the Major domo, we shall take a peep at his Locum ie- 
nens, whose charges for surveying the selections were exor- 
bitantly superior to that which the Mexican law demands 
of the settler. But, inasmuch as the Surveyor was gener- 
ally in copartnership understanding with the Empresario, 
it was necessary for a poor man if he wished to be lo- 
cated at all ! to appear not only satisfied, but convinced in 
his judgment, that all things were as they should be, even 
at the time he and his neighbor were both charged, and 
had to pay for the dividing line of their surveys, as if it 
had been an outside one. In many other respects the 
surveyors had the advantage ; such as providing selections, 
shifting surveys, retarding the field notes of the man 
whose pockets were light, and facilitating the business of 
those whose pockets were heavy. In the next compliance 
of the emigrant, he passed his grand climacteric; for in 
satisfying the Commissioner he received such a footing in 
the country, as enabled him once more to stand erect, and 
appear as a man in the midst of his fellow-men ! Com- 
missioner's fees are regulated b}'^ the Government, yet 
there are many discretionary powers which he possesses, 
at such a distance from the fountain head of justice and 
equity; and, be assured, he is apt to take advantage of 
them. As a solitary instance of the simple kind, the com- 
pound ones being too intricate, and at present unnecessary 
to handle, he would take live-stock for his pay, from those 
who had not the ready money, provided he had them at his 
own price! which was often the case, and ' thank 3^ou too!!' 
Next came the Sine qua non, and for the time being sot 
disant Hospidar in the shape of an ex professo expounder 
and translating Clerk (long to be remembered in those Colo- 
nies,) with his fees and perquisites; which, however, galled 
not the feelings of the worthy settler half so much, no 
matter how extravagant his pecuniary demands might be, 
as that haughty arrogance so often displayed by such an 
insignificant being, (American) as would, and that times 



292 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

withou number^ not only have the effrontery to dictate—— 
but to disguise, or withhold that question and answer^ 
which was perhaps of the utmost consequence to be per- 
fectly and distinctly understood, between the Mexican 
Commissioner and the American Emigrant. 

Nevertheless,, alt these grievances put together were 
nothing to be compared with that property which he re- 
ceived by submitting to them: and, could it be retained in 
the hands of him or his family, their enjoyments thereon 
might be great indeed, and undoubtedly the life of their 
descendants sans souci. But there have been ways with- 
out number, besides war, to jeopardize the lands of the 
first settlers in Texas; ways easily understood, by one 
who takes into consideration the general poverty of the 
emigrants, the cheapness of the land and the quantity 
given. One of the most effectual means made use of, has 
been introduced by the speculating mercantile firms of the 
United Northern States; who have taken care to supply 
the wants of the- Texasians with such goods as they could 
not or at least did not, do well without; although these goods 
were charged to them at an exorbitant price, even for a 
new country — and lands to be given for them in return, 
at the lowest value, even for a Texas country! 

What an extensive field has been opened, cultivated, 
and sown with such seed as cannot fail to produce, in the 
piping times of political peace, a rich harvest indeed for 
those who are learned in the Law. Well may the Far- 
mer of Texas, who knows the full extent of those unlaw- 
ful means taken with property in his country, exclaim^ 
'Let my son be a Lawyer? and if I can give him nothing 
else to depend upon, his fortune is made T 'As no law 
hereafter made or devised, can do away with the Just 
claims of that law under which the transaction took place,'^ 
'especially when the first parties concerned were fully 
aware that their conduct was not only contrary to the ex- 
isting statutes of their country, but to the serious injury of 
the innocent, and for the time being, helpless complainant.'' 
Upon these principles, and upon their considerations, surely 
no portion of the western world hps ever made or provided 



NATIONAL RELIGION. 293 

more provisions for litigation on account of lands than the 
country of Texas has done and is still doing. 

But, as John Austin, of Brazoria, said in the year 1830, 
after the three hundred and forty bales of leaf tobacco, 
weighing two hundred pounds each, had disappeared, al- 
though by no means to the benefit of those persons from 
whom it had been taken, by Fisher, the Revenue officer, 
at the mouth of the Brazos, and by him deposited for safe 
keeping in Austin's ware-house, being supposed a man 
not only disinterested, but by his official situation a stren- 
uous conservator of his country's laws — 'Blast Fisher 
and his complaints too!' — (and sure enough they did blast 
him, for the Americans so harassed him in his duty, and 
so maltreated his person, that he was glad in the spring 
of 1631 to escape v/ith his life!) 'the smuggling Washin- 
angoes must have stolen the tobacco, by entering through 
the roof of the house, unobserved, in the night' — (although 
the ware-house stood in the center of the town,) '1 wonder 
if he thinks the American traders do not com.e to this 
country with the intention of making mone}" — by G — d 
I did! — and I mean to make it too!!' 

NATIONAL RELIGION. 

The past transactions, and the present confficting inter- 
ests supposed by the superficial observer to exist, have led 
many to think and some to affirm, ' that the Mexican Span- 
iards and the American Mexicans never can amalgamate 
so as to become one people;' crowning their assertions by 
what they would wish us to consider the key-stone of the 
argument, ^ their national religion,'' Was that religion es- 
tablished since, or was it not fully known to all men, long 
before an American durst set his foot in Texas? Were 
they, or were they not, admitted to it, with their eyes open 
to that restriction? Has the Mexican government ever 
asked, or have the Americans of Texas ever paid one cent 
to the support of a priest, with the exception of marriage 
fees? Have not the state government of Coahuila and 
Texas, without a check from the federal government of 
Mexico, granted freedom of conscience in Texas, although 
the inhabitants thereof had no right to expect, far less to 
z2 



^94 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

demand it? Reader, believe me, the settlers of Texas in 
general have always been willingly prepared for the pay- 
ment of church dues, and their only astonishment has been 
their neglect! 

We know by what has been done, that there are many good 
?is well as great men among the Mexicans, who see plain- 
ly the useful and glorious effects which would result from 
p. freedom of religious rites being allowed by the laws of 
the confederation; and who will continue to exert their 
influence to prepare the minds of the illiterate mass for the 
enjoyment of that summit of national perfection. We may 
therefore re£t assured, that as soon as the powerful influ- 
ence of those who are benefited by a continuance of the 
people's ignorance, is overbalanced by these intellectual ac- 
quirements, which are sure to spring up under the march of 
those scholastic improvements that are making such gigan- 
tic strides over the earth in this our day ! a freedom of 
conscience in matters of religion must, as the natural con- 
sequence of knowledge, take place in every republic! 

We may justly consider the Mexican Republic as yet 
in a state of infancy, with the minds of the mass as yet en- 
tangled within the meshes of bigotry and superstition; but 
whose rulers will, by keeping in their eye the good of their 
countiy, so modify and correct the errors of its constitu- 
tion, according to the powers therein granted, as their peo- 
ple can bear it, until it shall be equal, and in one respect 
superior, to the constitution of their sister republic of the 
north. 

And although they are a people of another tongue, yet 
when we know that all places of profit and trust are open 
to those who are citizens in possession of the Spanish dia- 
lect; and that it is one of the most easily learned languages 
in the world to a foreigner; and that the inhabitants of Tex- 
as are as anxious to learn it as the Dutch and French of 
the United States were to acquire the English after the 
revolution, in order that they might be qualified for the 
highest station a free man could enjoy : when we consider 
all this, and view the uniformity of language now in the 
United States, then think how short a time it is since they 
were as dissimilar in respect to their dialect and preju- 



IMUg, 



ABUSE OF RELIGION. 295 

dices, as the Mexicans and Americans of the Mexican re- 
public are at this present time; we shall be forced to the 
conclusion that, sooner than might be expected, prejudice 
and partiality will be lost in the voice of reason, while it 
exclaims, f that their own interest and the standing of their 
adopted country are, and must be inseparably one!' 

The irjitellectual acquirements of the soul must hasten 
them on to become the citizens of a great and glorious re- 
public, amalgamating them into one family; having but one 
language, and one feeling of brotherly love and unity; ac- 
tuated by one heart and mind to resist oppressivon, and de- 
precate division; knowing that 'United they stand — di- 
vided they fall!!' a prey to anarchy, or to the despotism 
of the Jirst political aspirant who has the address to take 
advantage of their weakness and error. 

That ever one Caesar should be found among them, God 
forbid! but on the contrary, that there should always be 
found an overwhelming host, actuated with the principles 
of a Cincinnatus, a Wallace, and a Washington, who were 
well assured that the first political right of man 'is the 
inestimable privilege of having a voice in the formation of 
his own country's laws, and of being afterwards supported 
and judged by the same;' and the second, ^ the glorious 
freedom of transporting himself and his effects, when and 
where he pleases, upon the enlightened principle of na- 
tional reciprocity;' which reciprocity, while upheld, goes 
to justify the second law of nature, the equality of man, 
even as the former supported nature's first law, self- 
preservation ! 

ABUSE OF RELIGION. 

A true historian should be faithful to the trust reposed 
in him by all who come within the sphere of his observa- 
tions. And he is unqualified to represent facts to the 
world, who sets down aught in anger or malice, or exten- 
uates aught through fear or favor. If the memoir should 
prove mephitic to some, the bible itself has had the same 
effect: but what wise man ever blamed the word of God 
for it! Dieu et mon droit, is every man's motto, and verily 
jio man with impunity can monopolize the device. 

Having been careful, under these maxims, to collate 



296 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and digest heretofore observanda on both Mexican and 
Texicun, I shall also finish the narration with credenda; 
and concede to the Texasians, if you please, the full favor 
and approving- proclamation of this wor id's law: but still, 
although the law might thus pr claim them, yet the Gospel 
would be forced to cry out, 'Bad — Lao! — superlatively 
bad!!' For they generally appear in their personal de- 
pravity to have forgot, if ever they did know or pretend 
to believe, that there was either a God, or a devi!, except 
in trying who will call on their names in the most daring 
and preposterous manner; and who will, in appearance at 
least, set their Cvnscience and the injjncti ns of the Re- 
deemer at the greatest defiance; g.mL ling, drunkenness, 
and blasphemy being the order of the day, in every town 
and village of the province; leading one to believe that as 
soon as they h;id crossed the Sabine line, they considered 
also that they had passed over the line of spiritual account- 
abi.ity, both as to themselves and their children; the 
yoimg men believing no one thing of such vast importance 
as the riding of a wild horse, the shooting of a rifle-gun, 
and outdoing their fathers in folly and profaneness: and 
that too, not only when by themselves, (as many a God- 
fearing man's child does, when he least suspects it;) but 
in cases without number in the presence of their parents, 
who appear to be case-hardened with the frequent repeti- 
tion of such conduct, extenuating their supinenes to the 
astonished stranger, by saying, 'I can do nothing with my 
children, as there are so many bad examples set before 
them by those who ought to know better,' (observe, they 
themselves are not of that number,) 'that it is a moral im- 
possibility for us to control their freedom of thought!' 

O! morality, morality, and thou, freedom of thought, — 
ambiguous, or rather undefinable terms, — how shall we 
come at your true meaning? by the dictionary of science? 
No: for then you will be defined in proportion to the 
speaker's sensibility. By the dictionary of art? No: 
for then you will be analyzed in ratio with the parties' 
knowledge. By the dictionary of nature? No, no: for 
then you will assume as many diverse hues, as there are 
unsatisfied passions in society. By what then shall we 



l&ifi^ 



"•^■-- 



ABUSE OF RELIGION. 297 

judge you? By the Gospel? Yes, as far as the rules 
thereof are admitted, and no farther! Under such conside- 
rations, how much morality, undictated to by the laws of 
the land, shall be in existence in the next generation? Not 
only may the question be asked in the province of Texas, 
but in almost every State or Territory in the two Unions. 

'It has often been observed in the history of learning, 
that one of the most fertile sources of error consists in the 
ambiguity of words.' The observation is unfortunately 
equally applicable to the history of morality : and they, 
who have attended to the causes by which the understan- 
ding is misled, from the imperfections of language, will not 
be surprised at the deeper errors into which similar causes 
may mislead the heart. For the general principles of 
human conduct, we have general appellations ; but for the 
excess or the defect of these principles, we have no dis- 
tinct or specific names: and we are all willing to shelter 
ourselves under the ambiguity of a word, when conscience 
tells us that we are guilty with regard to what it really 
means. It is thus that avarice calls itself prudence ; and 
profusion generosity; that presumption assumes the name 
of ambition, and party spirit that of patriotism; and that, 
according to the various dispositions of our character, some 
of the worst and most malignant vices of our nature are 
sheltered, in our apprehension, under the most sounding 
appellations of virtue. 

Of this kind, there is not, perhaps, one in the wide 
circle of human weakness, which has been productive of 
more fatal effects than the name of Freedom of Thought. 
It is a term which in itself expresses much greatness and 
exaltation of mind; but it is also one which covers ambi- 
guities that have been fatal to thousands; and under which, 
have been concealed many of the darkest and most malig- 
nant dispositions that have ever debased the character of 
man. On the other hand, it is the great and majestic prin- 
ciple of all human improvement; the source from which 
has sprung all that dignifies or adorns the society of men. 
\t is this which, in private life, has ministered in every 
age to the progress of society, which has created its opu- 
ience and extended its comfort.?* ^^nd given to all the arta 



298 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

of life their origin and progression. It is this, in the his- 
tory of science, which has dispelled the darkness of igno- 
rance and of prejudice; which has gradually extended, with 
the progress of time, the limits of human knowledge, and 
raised by degrees the eye of man to the throne «of Him 
that inhabiteth eternity.' 

Hence arise the distinctions among men, and the ex- 
ceptions, honorable and praiseworthy exceptions to the 
general corruption and depravity of human nature : hence, 
in every country, we can meet the simple hearted chris- 
tian who relies upon the word of God as it is, and wrests 
not the scriptures to his own destruction. Hence the 
good and moral effects which evangelical preaching, pre- 
ceded by a genuine parental instruction and a charitable 
christian education, has on the bulk of mankind; seldom 
or never to be eradicated from the minds of those whose 
hearts have been once filled and whose souls have been 
once refreshed by the word of God as it is in Christ the 
Messiah: so that in the midst of the wilderness, as in the 
crowded city, among the rude and uncivilized as with the 
polished and refined, while the law and the testimony re 
main in their own hands, they can keep up a sense of re- 
ligion in their houses and a primeval form of worship in 
their families, especially on the Lord's day. 

Even in Texas, that Mexican land of heretics, too 
often termed the American land of refugees, may be 
found some families and not a few individuals of the above 
stamp, but many more of those persons whose minds have 
been soured to bitterness, and whose hearts have been 
wounded to death by these theological controversies, car- 
ried on through the cupidity of the priesthood to the 
prejudice of godliness in this our day; creating events no 
less deplorable in their nature than they are eternal in their 
effects. He who has doubts — he who would have proofs 
strong as holy writ, let him reside west of the Mississippi, 
and particularly west of the Sabine, and soon shall lie be 
satisfied; yea, soon shall he become the experienced judge. 
It matters not, into what sect or denomination of christians 
his name may be enrolled, so he is in himself a Gospel 
morality man, he will soon be forced to take shelter under 



iiiifjfiirii- I ttftlitiiif^ 



ABUSE OF RELIGION. 299 

the only effectual argument that can be made use of against 
the repeated attacks of those who have taken their crite- 
rion of Christianity from the conduct of professors, and not 
from that of the possessors : * Never mind those you cannot 
mend,' ^but study well your own latter end.' Has there 
not been, and is there ni:)t still a cause sufficient for such 
a state of things? yes indeed! for when men's actions 
belie their professions, should they not be suspected? and 
as the reality of their duplicity becomes manifest, will 
they not lose confidence? yea, most assuredly ! until man- 
kind too often falls into the opposite extreme, treating 
the very truth itself with a sceptical incredulity; the more 
especially when it is garbled and dealt out to them by 
such improper vehicles as are too often sent forth in this 
momentous period of sectarian struggle for physical power 
and temporal emolument — 'The work of the Lord' being 
1 their watch word, but « worldly ease' their rallying point! 
' Can it be a wonder that a church of hypocrites is the re- 
j suit, bringing many a conscientious man who would make 
I a good member thereof, to consider that he makes no 
I great sacrifice in respect to religious privileges, when he 
I becomes a citizen of such a country as Texas. ' For,' 
I says he, 'give but one party the power of the civil law in 
j your boasted land of religious toleration — I care not what 
I sect you may name, nor how in their present powerless con- 
I dition they may deny the assertion — I have the testimony 
•l of the world in all ages to bear me out, that the persecuted 
I invariably became the persecutors as fast as the balance 
\ of power preponderated in their favor: and I do assert, 
that religion was never in a lower ebb than it is now ! if 
not altogether so in its lay members, yet what is of more 
consequence to vital Christianity — in the majority of its 
clerical ones.' 

'I say,' continues this moral and conscientious man of 
Texas, 'only give them the power of fire and faggot, and you 
' will see (provided that you suffered not among the first vic- 
tims,) every hill and dale of the northern United States shine 
by the blaze of human sacrifices, immolated at the shrine 
of bigoted zeal and priestly aggrandizement! In confir- 
mation thereof, examine the principles which actuate the 



3t)0 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

main body of Methodist Episcopal Clergy, in their govern- 
ment of that church. I point them out in particular, be- 
cause they have adopted a melhod peculiar to themselves; 
so as to have the ascendency, not only in the number of 
their members, but in the wealth of their fraternity, above 
that of any other religious community in the United States, 
or in North America, with the exception of the Catholics, in 
this peri jd of uncommonly conspicuous exertions made in 
the name of the Gospel !' 

'I say, examine, and you will see, if you are not a care- 
less watchman, how slily they will ingratiate and after- 
wards keep themselves in the good graces of those persons 
who c:in or will let them have the greatest share of this 
world's substance; and haw completely they will shield one 
another against the accusations of a lay member: mjre espe- 
cially if he should be poor as to the goods of this world, his 
claim as to the next can have no weight. Provided an 
opening can be found in the laws of the land, the laws of 
the church are in their own power, and can be made at 

any time to suit their particular easel' Proofs! Proofs! 

I want proofs in some tangible shape, before I can believe 
such broad assertions, my good people! I exclaimed, to a. 
company who had met for religious exercises, on a Sabbath 
morning in the province of Texas. <Good!' they replied. 
« And as we have nil resided east of the Sabine and west 
of the Mississippi before we came here, we shall only state 
a few examples taken from between these two rivers, as 
you may think them all sufficient to establish our belief; 
not against the christian doctrine (which you may perceive 
by our meeting this day,) as it is in Clirist Jesus— God 
forbid! For we believe that not a few, but many out of 
ex)ery name given among men, shall be saved in the day of 
the Lord! and that the question shall not be asked,' 'To 
what creed or profession did you belong?' but on the con- 
trary, 'What life and holiness did you possess?' 

' Therefore, against the generality of the leading Theo- 
logians of the present day only, we beg leave to dissent; 
if not altogether on their public doctrines, at least in 
their private application of them: for like the Pharisees 
of old, they do < lay grievous burdens on other men's 



ABUSE OF RELIGION. 301 

shoulders, which they will not so much as touch with 
one of their fingers' — it being the chief axiom of their 
creed to support one another with this proviso, that the 
action committed if improper, and at the same time de- 
tected, has been done so dexterously, as can be shifted 
from them, and placed upon the score of persecution.' 

^And if the enlightened part of mankind should still 
think otherwise, so much the better : ' Through much tribu- 
lation,' they'll whisper to the credulous few, < lies the path- 
way to heaven;' and to their brethren of the altar, in their 
communications suh siletiiio, « if we cannot hoodwink all with 
whom we come in contact, in our acts of worldly chica- 
nery, we can at any rate deaden the reports of the obstrep- 
erous by pulpit declamation, and by laboring at a distance 
from the place where we v/ere so unfortunate as to be thus 
partially detected.' 

'But nevertheless,' they continue, 'let us be of good 
courage j such mishaps can be borne with for two particu- 
lar reasons, out of many v/hich are producible. Firstly, 
we have the present advantage of any pecuniary benefit 
we can obtain from our worldly speculations. Secondly, 
we can scarcely fail, if we are but clever in our profes- 
sion, in having our names at last recorded, and our sup- 
posed virtues handed down to post-erity, by some one of our 
simple but sincere followers sending them, well puffed up, 
to that spiritual vehicle the 'Christian Advocate,' or some 
other 'cate : and when we consider that they can put not only 
the words, but the very actions of an aged and genuinely 
matured christian, into the past life and mouth of a three 
year old child! what may we expect, who have labored 
and persuaded so ardently, and to so much effect, in the 
cause of subscriptions and missionary societies?' 

'True the unconverted say, 'ye encompass sea and land 
to make one proselyte; and lo, ye make him ten-fold 
more the child of perdition than before.' 'But never 
mind; let them laugh that lose — he that gains will laugh! 
For, have we not the history of the church from the be- 
ginning to bear us out in asserting, that the Priesthood 
must be supported under the designation of one name or 
another, while mankind believe either in a hell or a devil !' 

2 A 



302 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

'Now we all know by experience, how useful it is for 
us to have a devil at our elbow, ever ready to bear those 
crimes laid to our charge, (which we cannot conveni- 
ently father ourselves,) upon his shoulders from without 
the pale of our camp into the wilderness of this world, 
never more to be remembered by our followers. For 
what says the Apostle? 'When I would do good, evil is 
with me, and it is no more I that do it, but sin that is in 
me:' a plain indication indeed! and that which a shepherd 
should never lose sight of, whenever he gets into diffi- 
culties with his flock.' 

' With exhortations such as these, sir, did that indefati- 
gable Elder of the western church, W. Stevenson, comfort 
his minor brethren, when they had been, times without 
number, astonished at the dexterity with which he could 
extricate himself from those accusations laid to his charge 
by the people not only of this world, but by those who 
had come out of it, as far as being a member of the Me- 
thodist connection could be called a separation. But they 
were soon given to know that Joseph Butler, (a member 
who wished the privilege of proving, by two unimpeachable 
witnesses, this same main pillar of their society 'a liar 
and a deceiver,'') — might withdraw his name from tne 
Class book, as it was all the satisfaction he should be in- 
dulged with. Although he was an old revolutionary patriot 
of merit, and a much respected citizen of the country, as 
well as a correct member of the church, yet he should be 
taught to know who was his equal — and forsooth to learn, 
that the foot was made to support the head, but not to kick 
against itl' 

' And at the same time another member, D. B. Ed***d, 
should know and feel, that although he had spent a con- 
siderable property in accommodating them with a comfor- 
table meeting house, yet he should not only lose that 
much, contrary to pledged faith, but more also, by having 
the audacity to repel the machinations of some of his ob- 
streperous pupils, beaded by the children of this very ru- 
ling elder, — who were the ringleaders of a conspiracy, 
which had for its object the tarnishing of his good name. 
But, inasmuch as the said E. had in his favor the free and 



tl'jM'Tii wm 



ABUSE OF RELIGION. 303 

itidependent minds of the community, who were determi- 
ned to support him against the united efforts of a priestly 
oligarchy, whose long standing maxim had been sufficiently 
proved, at least in that section of the country, to be, « That 
none shall stay in their peculiar district, but those who 
would in all things be governed implicitly by their dic- 
tates.' 

'Nay even the preachers themselves, under this fox! 
as he was emphatically termed by his clerical opponent, 
William V. Duglas, after he had suffered a severe repri- 
mand from him, for preaching at a camp meeting on the 
west side of Red river, * against such shouting and howl- 
ing as marred the very meaning and intent of oral instruc- 
tion,' — should have their mouths stopped, unless they 
were not only advocates for this infallible sign of both 
conviction and conversion — but in all things, and at all 
times, submissive to the instructions and commandments 
of their ecclesiastical head'.' 

' For,' said he, < you all know how I have labored to 
uphold 570U all in the sphere of your vocations, and how 
we have been persecuted and despised by the self-righte- 
ous and the ungodly: therefore it is necessary, absolutely 
necessary, if we should wish to keep our ascendency over 
the minds of the true believers, to be united in that sys- 
tem and doctrine, which lays thegreatest hold on the hearts 
and heads of the weak and ignorant. By such mea- 
sures we can always be able to bear down those evil re- 
ports which may be circulated against us by the world: 
and if at any time these things should enter the ears of 
our lay brethren, we can, as I said before, fix them on the 
devil, not in us, as when we have no other shift — but in 
those who assert the contrary of our ipse dixit.'' 

«Do you complain, my brethren? — did I complain when 
squires Robertson and Russel, with their satellites, asserted 
that I designed to rob the poor laboring stranger of his 
mare's colt; and v/hen I could not by law prove it from 
him, that I had it run by one of my own sons out of the 
country, so that he should never see it more ? Think of 
that, brother Ross, and bear up manfully against the 
current of public opinion in the case of the waggon. You 



304 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

could safely swear that you never received itj altnough 
you bought it at first, and another afterwards got it by 
your order, who had paid you. Nevertheless, as the par- 
ties to whom the order was given and the waggon too, 
were far hence before payment was demanded, and the 
end of the law was your oath, they had a right to lose it, 
who said that you got the article from the first owner!' 

<Did I complain,' I say again, 'when M'Early of 
Natchitoches asserted through the country that I was a 
vender of forged bank bills? True, it looked suspicious 
when such a poor man as I had a roll of stamp papers in 
his hand, and who, notwithstanding, had to take back two 
ten dollar bills I had passed before, without being able to 
replace them by cash, or such paper as would be received! 
But you all know, that it is not every one who is a per- 
fect judge of the difference between a real and a spurious 
bank bill : how easy then to pass it over, especially in the 
country, by one who is an adept in the art of glossary.' 

^ Think then, brother Lard, whether you should be cast 
down by their saying, ' that you knew of the tallow being 
mixed in the bees-wax you attempted to sell;' or that in 
petty instances without number, you show too much mean- 
ness in your worldly dealings for a preacher; and that 
'you denied payment for the fine linen which strangers 
buried your son in.' We all know that the dead are easily 
pleased; therefore, it's only about the living we should be 
particular : for what says the Apostle ? ' He who provides 
not for his own household, is worse than an infidel.' 
And who is of our household? Not the dead but the 
living! 

'Furthermore,' let me ask you, 'did I complain when 
D. B. Ed***d accused me of being the means whereby 
one hundred and fifty dollars worth of his property was 
sacrificed for the payment of forty-eight, — by my keeping 
back his obligation, which I had received from W. V. 
Duglas, until he had to visit another country, so that I 
might be revenged for all his former exposures of me and 
my family? To be sure I gave him too much of a handle 
against me, by taking such precipitate and of course by so 
doing unlawful steps with his property: for, if he had re- 



ABUSE OF RELIGION. 305 

turned within the time prescribed by the Louisiana law, 
he had it in his power to hurt me and those civil officers 
who assisted me so nobly with the law of Lex talionis. 

^ But I have reason to be thankful the storm is past ; al- 
though my exertions you know were many, whether just or 
unjust it matters not, so long as I could not debar him from 
receiving the orphan's funds granted him as their teacher 
by law, while as I told him he was enjoying a greater 
salary otherwise, than the most fortunate of us: therefore, 
it appeared to me, that he should have taught the children 
of preachers for less, and mine as their ruling elder for 
nothing! Although it had been a matter foolishly neglected 
by us in our first agreement with him; still, it must be 
confessed, we have been amply remunerated by evading 
the promise to build for him a school house, or rather 
for ourselves a church; for by so doing we now enjoy the 
full benefit of his exertions ! And no doubt you are also 
aware, that if I had had at that time only church members to 
deal with as Trustees, the chap would have been brought 
to a humbler way of thinking. However, as it was, I have 
been in his way that much any how ; although others who 
did not so well deserve it, have reaped the substantial 
benefits of his labor, while I have been, as I may say, put 
off with the shadow!' 

' Consider on these things, brother M'Mahon, when you 
are traduced by evil minded men, who have the assurance 
to say — when you are heard crying aloud in the night 
season, that, although you do assert in class meetings, « that 
you are thus exercised with your God, in behalf of such a 
sinful people as they are,' — you are only mourning over 
some disappointment in your worldly speculations : as you 
did in the case of the blind horse, which they aver you 
sold as soon as you perceived his sight was leaving him. 
If you did, I must acknowledge, that three hundred dollars 
was no small consideration to one who has been frequently 
known to play the unfair game for as many cents ! And, 
although your son's thoughtless exclamation afterwards 
marred the whole consideration, and completelys defeated 
you in the concern, so that like me in E*****'s case, you 
had but the shadow for your pains, — yet you may, by that 
2a2 



306 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

perseverance you are so famed for in other cases without 
number, have the substance also. 

' What do you think of all these things, my brother Jones 
Westerlund? whose face is as flint and whose forehead as 
the adamant! cariying you triumphantly through the petty 
speculations of a petty trade, where common modesty 
would have shrank, and decent sensibility stood appalled! 
Bravisimo!! I should not like to make you vain; but of 
necessity I am constrained into the confession, « that you 
are one of the most accomplished members of our privileged 
fraternity,' — a bean of the right kidney, who could so 
long and so slyly hood-wink the sheep, deceive the goats, 
and with impunity plunder so many of their orphans ! and 
at last show yourself such a finished tactician peddler, as 
to sue your creditors, instead of allowing them the satisfac- 
tion of suing you; manfully facing them afterwards, not 
only in the streets, but in their families — and what will 
scarcely be believed, except by the initiated few, in the 
pulpit, as it were before God! Not with ablush? No; but 
with a reprimand, for them who dared to have the unhal- 
lowed audacity to speak so freely and so irreverently of 
their leader in the gospel! 

* Is that all ? Nay verily, thou art truly a Chiliahedron / 
who richly deserves to be generalissimo over all the guar- 
dians of the western sacerdotal pyx. What, art thou the 
only man who is basking under the shadow of Louisiana's 
petticoat law ? nay forsooth ! And there are many even 
of those who publicly exclaim against your wife's manage- 
ment, in refusing to admit of the two hundred dollars you 
had received by piece-meal from her negress, as any part 
of that two thousand dollar payment she had to give for 
her own and her children's freedom, who would privately 
wish they had just such a chance — and just such a wife 
to support it! 

' While you stood thus instar omnium, both for the Or- 
thodox and the Heterodox, it would have ill become the 
conclave over which, for the time being, major domo O. L, 
Nash not only presided but governed, to have refused you 
a circuit, whereon you and your lady, also now called to 
the regenerating work of an Itinerant, would have a space 



mmm 



ABUSE OF RELIGION. 307 

equal to your united powers, in pouring out the vials of 
spiritual indignation against the lukewarmness of the back- 
sliding brethren. Lukewarm indeed! in their adherence 
to their teachers, and in reverencing you! who had fought 
the good fight, if not of ' faith,' yet of perseverance : for in 
spite of that weight of accusation, rolled together like a 
snow-ball which had descended trom the top of a mountain, 
to assist the would-be moral and the pretending godly, 
you had not only continued a leading member of our hier- 
archy, but had received more power, (thank your brethren 
of the clerical robe,) while their very seats tottered under 
them, who had the hearts to conceive such a mass of im- 
piety, as would extend from thence to the tip of their 
tongues, against a priest of the Lord! 

'Ah! my brethren, how much ought we to be united? 
How long will it be ere your political sagacity shall over- 
come your spiritual envy of one another? What do you 
wish our power to stand? Do you wish the loaves and 
fishes to abound? Then never, never, I entreat you, let 
such a thing again take place between two preachers, as 
that which transpired betwixt Westerlund and Tunely, 
about a few pitiful ears of corn bought on a Sunday morn 
ing. Fie upon you, is there no other way to recriminate 
upon one another, than that way which will redound to 
your disadvantage among the ignorant and narrow minded 
lay brethren ; especially when that s£lme corn was pur- 
chased by Tunely for the benefit of our fellow-laborers' 
horses! Out upon you — I say, out upon you! Who of 
you can say, «I am unspotted' — and who of you would 
like to appear before the uncircumcised in perfect nudity ? 

' I will try to forget Tunely's conduct in Westerlund's 
case; and I must forgive, although I cannot forget, Wes- 
terlund's provocation — especially from one who had been 
to the extent of his means, in worldly doings, his equal ; as 
many of the Alexandrians would dare, if we would listen, to 
certify! For 'provocation will make a wise man mad.' 
And who has been of more service to the Itinerants of 
the west, whether they were in pursuit of converts to the 
gospel — or, as the worldlings say, 'wives with negroes?' 
To be sure, the saying is too often verified by those young 



308 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

men marrying so, and afterwards locating ; appearing as if 
that call to the spirit, had ended in a call to tlie flesh! But 
be that as it may, I return to my question, because it is one 
of importance to all men: Who has been of more service to 
the church in the articles of refection than Jones? Truly 
with all his gatherings and with all his savings, he has been 
— by the congregated members of it, in the shape of an 
insatiable and devouring whale — like his namesake of old, 
^swallowed upP But, unlike the whale of past time, they 
have forgot to set him on < dry land again :' a sure indication 
that the provisions of the modern, lay easier upon their sto 
machs, than that of the ancient Jones did, in the belly of 
their whalish ancestor. Therefore, it is now too bad, when 
they are disappointed in their old haunt of luxury for both 
man and beast, to be ungrateful ! when we ought rather to 
be thankful even if it was for nothing else but his heroic ex- 
ample and undaunted courage. Yea you ought all to love 
him as one who, under the existing state of things, as they 
are generally practised in our church, must, when 1 shall be 
no more, extend his sway as ruling elder over this our wes- 
tern polity. Yes, his pulpit axioms will be quoted, and his 
moral deeds will be imitated by all of common sense and 
sound judgment among you; for he has been — is now — 
and must be, a Primus inter pares ! 

< But why should I enlarge, except for the ostensible 
purpose of fortifying the wavering mind, by making it ac- 
quainted with indisputable precedents ? And although my 
standing is, and that justly too, of priority among you, 
yet I do not mean you should confine your observations 
exclusively to me — as you are very apt to do — but to 
one another also; bearing in mind the Apostle's injunc- 
tion : ' I will that the younger brethren should submit to 
the elder in all things' — a very proper commandment, as 
they must in reason be possessed of the greatest share 
of experience. Ei'go, as your elder by office, as well as 
your elder by nature, I enjoin it upon you all to have a 
special regard to the conduct of my equal in years, if 
not in office and ecclesiastical usefulness — our trusty and 
well-beloved brother in the Lord, Henry Stephenson; 
whom you all know as a bright and shining example of 



ABUSE OF RELIGION. 309 

Gospel charity; and who is as persevering as he is faith- 
ful in the vineyard of his Heavenly master. Would then 
a man of his judgment and spiritual experience, if it had 
been vv^rong, told his people, « That those who did not 
bring their grist to his Ox-Mill, when the water mills of 
the country did go, need not be at the trouble of doing 
so in the dry season; for they might depend upon it, if 
they should go without bread, their corn would stand un- 
ground !' There was dignity for you, and such dignity as 
had its effect too, even upon those who did not acknowl- 
edge him as their spiritual pastor; but who felt that he 
had a weighty and controlling power over the temporali- 
ties of their stomachs.' 

' I say therefore, because I would have it impressed, 
indelibly impressed if possible upon your minds — that 
dignity and sublimity are the two grand characteristics of 
a Divine! As a conspicuous example of the first, observe, 
if you please, my Son-in-law, Bilbo, whom the triflers of 
this world designate by the name of Bo-Bill of Opelousas; 
and because he is of a dark complexion, they will have 
him to be tinted so by the blood of Darkies! Now, whether 
they are right or wrong, it matters not: you can sec him, 
ever since he married my highminded daughter, wheeling 
through the country (rough and rugged as a western coun- 
try is,) in his chaise and pair! striving to convince gain- 
sayers, especially the learned, as his language from the 
sacred desk, ever since he had the honor of calling me 
father, has ascended, and is still arising far above the 
comprehension of the vulgar herd! That he as well as 
the rest of those young Itinerants, who have wedded 
wives of slender fortunes, has adopted as his motto the 
arguments of the Apostle, ^Have I not power to lead 
about a wife V And again, ^ while you are partakers of 
our spirituals, should we not partake also of your tem- 
porals !' 

«As a worthy imitation of the sublime, view, if you 
can, and listen if you have an opportunity, to my son, 
James, on whom I have spared no pains to cultivate and 
polish for the ministerial trade, as it is now followed in our 
connection — inasmuch as I found that he had an uncon- 



310 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

querable antipathy to farm labor. And although he is 
naturally a dull boy, and without the benefit of a scholas- 
tic education, yet I thought it was the best thing I could 
make of him. And the world may now judge with what 
success my efforts have been crowned, ever since his far 
famed and justly celebrated sermon on temperance. O! he 
is a hopeful son for such an unworthy father. Where is the 
head so callous? where is the heart so cold? as would 
not be softened and warmed by such a display of the sub- 
lime pathos, as the momentum given to this momentous 
subject produced in his brains.' 'You may well be sorry 
for your absence; for ah! my powers of rehearsal are far, 
very far from being adequate to do either him or his phil- 
ippic that justice they so richly deserve. True, I may 
somewhat unite his broken sentences, or in some meas- 
ure round his ragged periods; but O! had you but seen 
and heard him for yourselves, in that moment of rap- 
turous excitement, with his left hand stretched forth, as 
in the act of pointing at some particular object, and his 
right hand shut in the very act of desk knocking, (remem- 
ber, the power of the preacher is best known by the bills 
of the desk maker!) with his feet stamping the floor, and 
his whole body shaking instinctively abhorrent; so much 
so, that his zeal appeared in the eyes of his astonished 
hearers, to operate upon his system contrary to that of the 
psalmist David, for instead of ' eating him up,' it seemed 
to swell out his corporeal frame to twice its usual dimen- 
sions: while his eyes, like two prognosticating meteors, 
rolled — and his mouth with the saliva of wrath poured 
out, until the big drops of sweat — stood not on his brow, 
but coursed down his then inflated cheeks, like two tor- 
rents divided by a prominent rock on the face of an ocher- 
ous hill.' 

"Look at the drunkard," said he; " view him as he reels 
from the tavern or grog-shop, after having despicably de- 
bauched himself with the only means remaining to pro- 
vide either a supper or a breakfast for his wife and chil- 
dren! he reels — he staggers — he falls! And with much 
ado he recovers himself, and renews over and over again 
the scene of reeling — staggering- — falling — and rising, 



ABUSE OF RELIGION. 311 

until night overtakes him, before he has passed the last 
family dwelling next to his home. Do you suppose he 
got there at last? No! No!! For to-morrow comes, and 
with it the good neighbors are alarmed by the heart-ren- 
ding spectacle of a disconsolate wife, and the woful inqui- 
ries of her hungry infants, 'did you see pa?' — 'O my pal' 
The day is spent by a sympathising people without success. 
The report of a lost man has gone far and wide. To- 
morrow convenes a still larger company in pursuit of the 
unfortunate wretch ! And lo, on the third day he is found I 
By what sign, think you? By a flock of buzzards! Yes, 
by a flock of turky buzzards! But not in the act of de- 
vouring the whisky-bloated carcase, I tell you! No! No!! 
But perched on the branches of the overhanging trees, con- 
sulting their bills ^whether such filthy carrion would not 
turn their otherwise voracious stomachs .^" 

' There was an Original for you ; at least it was thought 
so at the time; and many v/ere misbelievers of the Buz- 
zards' discriminating powers. But since that, my son's 
assertion has been supported by a corroborating testimon)^, 
taken from a field of more extensive observation — at 
the close of the last war — by those who observed the 
conduct of the Mississippi alligators, after the battle of 
New Orleans; which were seen, on account of the im- 
mense quantity of human bodies afloat in the river, to 
nozzle the red-coats; and if they were not broad-cloth 
ones, forsooth, their stomachs were too dainty to digest 
such vulgar bait as they contained!' 

'Instinct, my brethren, may be as strong in a buzzard, 
as in an alligator; and if the one knew how to discrimi- 
nate between the poor man's carcass and the rich, why 
not the other betwixt a drunken man's and a sober? yea, 
even man, boasting man! is as often moved by instinct, 
as he is by reason; and reason may at times leave him — 
but instinct never. Now as animals are entirely deprived 
of reason, it's but in justice and equity that they should 
be endued with a much greater proportion of instinct.' 

'But allow me to remind you, that there is one gift 
more, my beloved brethren, of far greater value in our 
side of the house, than both reason and instinct put to- 



312 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

gether: 1 mean Faith. Whatever you may say, or what- 
ever you may do, keep that grace in mind : for says the 
Apostle, ^ Faith removes mountains!' And had the two 
M'Donalds of Claiborne parish, Louisiana, and others with 
them, only been possessed of some of that grace svhich 
filled my wife Jane, when she crossed the swollen creok 
of more than twenty feet broad and six feet deep — walk- 
ing on the surface of the water, (although she is but an 
awkward slow woman,) without ever wetting the soles of 
her ^QGi, or yet the water ascending to the upper leathers 
of her shoes! — I say, had they ever had as much faith as 
to believe her, or her daughter's testimony, who was an 
eye witness of the fact ! although she confessed her inabil- 
ity to do so too — they might have been as yet unspotted 
members of the sheep-fold; instead of having their 'flesh 
cast out to the buffetings of Satan, that peradventura 
their souls may be saved in the day of the Lord!' 

Enough! and more than enough! I exclaimed, my 
friends, — to convince me that there is still another classr 
of people, inhabiting Texas, which I never so much as 
dreamed of; and be assured, my astonishment at the state 
of religion in the west, is completely laid aside. For it is 
in this our day, (human nature being the same in all ages,) 
as it was in the days of Elijah the prophet, — and Jehu 
the reformer; thousands of the upright and the godly have 
complained like the first, and millions have trod in paths 
of the latter: while the just might know, that even as the 
working of their own hearts is hid from their fellow men, 
so are the yearnings of those truly pious spirits whom they 
judge, unknown to mortal ken. And the Nimshi's should 
know, that religion is a thing of the heart — and not of 
the head. A possessor of the former, will be diffident 
among men in the commencement of his career, mild to 
mankind in his progress through life, and ineffably be- 
nign in his latter end: but, if of the latter, forwardness 
and display are the true characteristics of its pretending 
votary — zeal without knowledge his progress through life; 
and a persecuting hypocrisy winds up his noxious days! 

Are there wolves in sheep's clothing ? There are sheep 
also! or the vermin would appear in their own. Why do 



CONCLUSION. 31 

men cover themselves under the cloak of religion? Be- 
cause there is a germ of its essence ingrafted from the 
beginning upon the heart of every man, which leads him 
as it were in spite of himself, to reverence its dictates, 
and to look to it as his final preserver. But, inasmuch as 
the soul of man becomes bound to the world and its vani- 
ties, in so much will that sacred seed which he possesses 
of religion, be retarded in its germination: and, as long 
as men are conscious of the inferiority of their guardian- 
ship over that divine plant, so long will the pretending 
Horticulturists thereof produce spurious blossoms in imi- 
tation, to deceive! But I would ask the man of moral 
character, and of honest heart, ' Whether a forgery com- 
mitted in his name, whereby the worthy and the wise were 
injured, would alter his intrinsic worth, or even lessen 
him in the opinion of the commercial world?' 

In admitting that — you allow this also: religion is as 
good as it is beneficial — and as great as it is glorious in 
its effects — Ergo, its counterfeit is as bad as it is prejudi- 
cial — and as mean as it is diabolical in its operations 
leading the hasty and inconsiderate to pass their condem- 
nation upon the reverently pious in toto, because, forsooth, 
there are recreants to the work among them, and because 
man is fallible. What if the passions of his heart will not 
rise from this earth of his affections — he will soon re- 
ceive a summons to quit the overheating struggle: and 
however burned he may be himself, a scorchuig ray from 
his hypocrisy need never reach your radi- at gem of im- 
mortality ! Coram Judice, thou shalt answer for thyself 
and not for another ! Memento mori ! ! 

CONCLUSION. 

Having in Texas lost horse after horse, (to say nothing of 
other property,) either by Indians, death, or fatigue, I have 
had occasion to learn some valuable recipes for the benefit 
of that useful animal, as by their adoption I have avoided 
some serious signs of more difficulties ahead. Being once 
mounted on a very fat American horse, in a very hot 
day, the heat so overcame him, that though I arrived at a 
house where he got water and corn as we judged in good 
2B 



314 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

time, yet in the course of the night he appeared so far 
gone, as to be given up for death by all who observed him. 
Therefore, 1 had a bunch of Tobacco leaves torn up, and 
immediately torrefied to a snuff state, (snuff itself would 
have been better) putting two large table spoonfuls thereof, 
in a quart bottle, half full of whisky, filled up with warm 
water — shook them together and poured it down him. 
Then took a long handled iron-pan full of cotton, set fire 
to it, and held the smoke under his nostrils, making the 
water from them run freely. I have but seldom seen this 
medicine to fail, except where bots was the disorder: ir. 
that case, one handful of prepared indigo, dissolved in two 
quarts of warm sweet milk, will not only relieve the 
horse, but kill the bots by bursting! so that they shall 
leave him — a thing which they seldom or never do, by any 
other medicine ever tried! 

Throughout the wet summer of 1835, the like of which 
has never been known in the province, I have had occa- 
sion, whether worthy or unworthy, to be at all, or nearly 
all the public meetings called for, in weal, or in woe to 
the people of Texas! Be that as it may, I spent four 
months and as many dollars in hundreds on the matter, 
considering peace to be a blessing easily thrown away, 
but not so easily to be picked up again. While thus em- 
ployed, my splendid horse, by a continued progress through 
the flat wet prairies of the country, became seriously af- 
fected with the foot evil before I knew what remedy to 
apply, and most undoubtedly I should have lost him, had I 
not got where a person recommended ' boiling hot tallow 
mixed with tar to be poured into the sore,' a thing which 
never fails to cure that evil indeed, provided the horse is 
kept up in a dry stable, and the remedy applied every 
twenty-four houi-s. Even if tar is not at hand, tallow itself 
will kill the humor, and deaden the flesh to the preservation 
of the foot; and by the same application every twelve hours, 
while the horse is obliged to travel, he will recover, or at 
least get no worse, until he can have rest and proper keeping. 

Having settled myself in Gonzales, after I had seen that 
the country of the Guadalupe was the best adapted to my 
constitution, and the inhabitants the best adapted to my 



CONCLUSION. 315 

political feelings — and where I had some right to believe 
that my exertions have not only been useful to myself, but 
beneficial to my fellow men; had it not been for the In- 
dian warfare, which went so far as to drive us, man, 
woman and child, in spite of all our exertions, three seve- 
ral times into a fort for our preservation, during the (for 
Texas) severe winter of 1832 — and the last political agi- 
tations of the people, I should have enjoyed myself as well, 
and as much to the purpose in pursuit of peace, ease and 
happiness, as I ever did in any other country, personal 
fatigue on public business notwithstanding. 

A second time the country is at war with its government. 
A friend to whom that country is dear, stood by me through 
the whole of its commencing progress. To him I said, let 
nae wish — ' Well,' returned he, < wish on.' Ah! continued 
I, if I do, you may tell me as the Philadelphia quaker told 
his friend on the banks of the Delaware, when they ob- 
served a large three-masted vessel heavily loaded with 
goods from England, moving majestically up the river: <I 
wish,' exclaimed one, ' that ship was freighted with bags of 
gold, and these bags all consigned to me !' < Pooh, pooh, 
man! that's no wish at all — /wish that ship was loaded with 
bags of needles' eyes, which had been worn to the eye 
making bags to hold gold in, now filled up for me !' And 
the one had his wish as soon as the other. However, I am 
bound to wish we had more men of peace in our young 
country, and fewer men of war. To take life on any con- 
sideration is awful, but to take it from wrong motives is ter- 
rible! O man, man, the spirit of preserving principle is of 
thy God! The spirit of destruction is the Devil's worming 
work, built up piece by piece in the heart through thy pas- 
sive negligence : how well then would it be for thee, to obsta 
principiis! 

Now, fellow traveler, if thou art a genuinely impressed 
republican, thou hast stuck to the first principle of that 
creed, in my case, as in thine own — which says « Equals 
are equally free!' If so, our differences which may be, 
will only connect us the more in expressing the liberal 
patriot's ejaculations: 'Long live Republics! may their 
counsellors be clothed with wisdom! may their people be 



316 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

united in love! and may that God, who rules the universe 
and directs the storm, inchne the hearts of kingly powers 
to have them in esteem and honor, so that they may have 
time and opportunity given, to grow into strength, wealth, 
and virtue.' 

As under the benign influence and protection of a re- 
publican government, I trust in God! you and I, gentle 
reader, may spend the remainder of our days with ease and 
tranquillity— having our last hours soothed with the 
reflection, that the germ of liberty shall, and must grow, 
until it finally covers the face of the whole earth!! — 
Bono pro — 

Freedom's the gem I do adore, 
I found her on Columbia's shore — 
I worship'd her with love divine, 
And swore she'd evermore be mine. 

Although I thus in raptures burn, 
I'm not of common lovers' turn; 
But wish that millions of the brave, 
Could boast of favors they receive. 

And, what is very strange to know, 
She is no coquette with her beau; 
Bat every day does joys impart. 
And every night keeps light his heart. 



APPENDIX 



TAKiifG into view the march of infant nations, and upon that view 
building our hopes of futurity ; we shall be led into the probable conse- 
quences, resulting from the present natural and political situation of the 
western hemisphere — so far as to believe, that no monarchy can for any 
length of time subsist upon it ; but that on the contrary, its political sys- 
tem will give a stimulant to that of the eastern, until the inhabitants 
thereof become not only republicans in principle, but in action : — so 
that, finally, ignorance and superstition will be banished from the earth. 
Of course that divine right, so often supposed to be possessed by the few, 
to lord it over the many, will be lost in the all-vivifying influence of re- 
publicanism ; which must ultimately cover the earth, as the waters of the 
deluge did the ancient world, until a resting place cannot be found, 
whereon a man of despotic principles can stand ! 

In no period of authenticated history, have we any account which 
will bear a comparison with the progress of society in the western 
world — not only as to its increase of numbers from the time it was first 
discovered, until the present day ; but, in those improvements they have 
made in every thing appertaining to the ennobling of man ! which must 
continue throughout ages to come, to increase and grow, until the west- 
ern continent becomes as superior to the eastern, as the eastern has been 
in time past considered superior to it ; lasting longer, and giving out a 
more durable light, than any other people, on any other portion of the 
earth ever did — their isolated situation protecting them from the attacks 
of such barbarians, as destroyed the fairest quarters of the eastern world. 

Relying with full confidence on the belief, that however the members 
of a republic may at times differ in opinion as to poUtical measures, and 
however republics themselves may at times differ on their reciprocal 
rights, yet will their pacific principles be such, and their interests to dis- 
agree so little, that even if they should be led at times by the mistaken 
views of their leaders, into war, still that war will neither be long, nor 
destructive in its effects. 

So that we need not calculate on any sensible diminution of numbers 
ever taking place on that account; but on the contrary as succeeding 
years roll on, so will the inhabitants of the western hemisphere roll into 
a density, which would, as it has heretofore done, astonish the most pro- 
found algebraist of Europe. 

Let us for a moment take a peep at its future numbers, by a calcula- 
tion taking for its basis the past ratio of increase, which is well known 
to be in the United States, at least one-third every ten years. Allowing 
for accidental causes to have equal effect, sooner or later, in every politi- 
cal portion of the continent ; we shall continue and proceed on the same 
principle with all. But inasmuch as according to the age of a country, 
(I speak in general terms,) so will its ratio of increase diminish ; we shall 
therefore add one-sixth to the dividing number, every ten years, from 
the year l,8'/i0 to the year 2,000 of the christian era — where we shall 
2b2 317 



318 



APPENDIX. 



stop, upon the supposition that the whole world by that time, may with 
some degree of propriety be termed one universal republic ! ! 

By the census taken of the United States, in the year 1820, it was 
found that they contained 9,638,226.— In that of 1830, by our addition 
of one-third 12,850,968. 



In 1840 about 16,522,673 



In 1930 about 70,215,060 



1850 
1860 
1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 
1910 
1920 



20,653,.341 
25,240,750 
30,288,090 
35,795,972 
41,761,967 
48,186,808 
55,070,636 
62,413,387 



1940 " 


78,475,651 


1950 « 


87,195,167 


1960 " 


96,373,605 


1970 « 


106,010,965 


1980 " 


116,107,199 


1990 " 


126,862,035 


2000 " 


137,676,125 



Upon the same principle we find the British dominions in North 
America, including Newfoundland, to have been in 1820 — 554,000. 
And in 1830—738,633. 



In 



1840 about 

1850 " 

1860 " 

1870 " 

1880 " 

1890 " 

1900 " 

1910 " 

1920 " 



949,713 
1,187,391 
1,451,225 
1,741,506 
2,058,143 
2,401,166 
2,770,576 
3,166,372 
3,588,554 



In 



1930 about 


4,037,122 


1940 " 


4,512,078 


1950 « 


5,013,420 


1960 « 


5,541,095 


1970 " 


6,095,204 


1980 " 


6,675,699 


1990 " 


7,282,580 


2000 " 


7,917,152 



Which number when added to that of the United States, 165 years 
hence, will make an aggregate of 145,593,277 individuals, speaking 
the English language, and improving on their system of jurisprudence ; 
when perhaps that nation will be sinking under the fate of empires, fast 
dwindling into that state of barbarism, from which their ancestors rescu- 
ed the wild uncultivated fields of North America ! 

Starting the Mexican population at their round number of 1820, 
which was 6,500,000; we find that they amounted in 1830 to 8,666,666 



In 


1840 


about 


11,014,856 


In 


1930 about 47,359,668 


« 


1850 


a 


13,928,570 


« 


1940 


' 52,872,570 


« 


1860 


(I 


17,023,807 


u 


1950 


' 58,747,500 


« 


1870 


a 


20,428,556 


u 


1960 


64,931,205 


(( 


1880 


li 


24,142,853 


« 


1970 


« 71,424,321 


(( 


1890 


a 


28,166,654 


n 


1980 


78,226,628 


(( 


1900 


a 


32,499,991 


il 


1990 


85,338,148 


(( 


1910 


i( 


37,142,878 


ii 


2000 


' 92,758,856 


« 


1920 


a 


42,095,261 









Thus we find the Mexican population something like their territory, 
equal to two thirds of the United States — with this diff*erence, that the 
latter part of our period of calculation, may be the most favorable to their 
increase ; while the first may be found the most advantageous, in that 
respect, to their sister republic of the North. 

Taking the Guatimala republic, upon the same footing with their 







APPENDIX 


• 






31 


brethren of Mexico, 


we see that there were in 


1820 


1,200,000. 


1830 1,600,000. And 










In 1840 


about 


2,057,142 


In 


1930 


about 


8,742,847 


*' 1850 


(( 


2,671,427 


a " 


1940 




< 


9,771,417 


« 1860 


(( 


3442,855 


a " 


1950 




( 


10,857,130 


" 1870 


« 


3,771,426 


B " 


1960 




( 


11,999,986 


« 1880 


(( 


4,457,139 


a " 


1970 




i 


13,199,983 


« 1890 


" 


5,199,995 


a " 


1980 




I 


14,457,124 


« 1900 


(( 


5,999,994 


a ** 


1990 




' 


15,771,408 


« 1910 


(C 


6,857,136 


a « 


2000 


" 


17,142,834 


« 1920 


" 


7,771,420 


" 











In 



In putting this last number with that of the Mexicans at the same 
period, we shall find the Spanish dialect to be spoken by 109,901,690 
persons in the North American continent, — being about one fifth less 
in number than that of the United States ; and one fourth less than that of 
the English Americans; — reducing it to a moral certainty, that these 
two languages will in latter days, engage the serious attention of every 
enquiring mind, as by them in particular, they will be led into all the 
depths of science and philosophy. 

Considering the unattached American Islands, as a distinct portion of 
the Western Continent, and, as being properly designated a part of the 
northern division thereof; we shall therefore include them in our present 
calculation ; adopting the medium between the two extremes of their 
supposed numbers : — Commencing in 1820 with 2,225,000. In 1830 
2,966,333. And 

In 



1840 


about 


3,815,856 


In 


1930 about 16,021,233 


1850 


a 


4,769,820 


a 


1940 


' 17,317,848 


1860 


a 


5,829,780 


" 


1950 


' 19,242,053 


1870 


a 


6,995,736 


" 


1960 


' 21,267,532 


1880 


a 


8,167,688 


" 


1970 


' 23,394,285 


1890 


u 


9,528,969 


u 


1980 


' 26,622,312 


1900 


a 


10,994,964 


u 


1990 


' 27,951,613 


1910 


« 


12,565,673 


iC 


2000 


' 30,382,188 


1920 


a 


14,241,096 









Placing this last number under the 255,494,967 on the main land, 
we find they amount to the astonishing number of 285,877,155 equal to 
all Europe, Afiica, and America, when put together at the present day ! 

Proceeding to South America, we will take them as we did that of 
the North, according to their natural and political consequence: — 
Beginning with the republic of Colombia, which contained in 1820 
about 3,000,000. In 1830 say 4,000,000. 



In 1840 


about 


5,142,857 


In 


1930 ab 


out 21,860,701 


« 1850 




6,428,571 


(( 


1940 ' 


24,775,461 


" 1860 




7,857,142 


« 


1950 ' 


27,528,290 


" 1870 




9,428,570 


« 


1960 ' 


29,899,688 


" 1880 




11,144,673 


(( 


1970 ' 


32,889,656 


" 1890 




13,002,118 


" 


1980 ' 


36,022,004 


" 1900 




15,002,137 


« 


1990 * 


39,296,729 


" 1910 


(( 


17,145,649 


iC 


2000 ' 


42,713,855 


" 1920 


« 


19,431,735 









■I 



320 



APPENDIX. 



Taking the Peruvian republic upon the same footing, we find that 
their population was in 1820 1,800,000. In 1830 2,400,000. And 



In 



1840 
1850 
1860 
1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 
1910 
1920 



about 



3,085,714 
3,857,140 
4,714,282 
5,657,138 
6,685,707 
7,799,991 
8,999,989 
10,285,701 
11,557,127 



In 



1930 
1940 
1950 
1960 
1970 
1980 
1990 
2000 



about 13,001,767 
" 14,531,386 

16,145,984 
" 17,845,461 
" 19,630,007 
" 21,451,912 

23,403,083 
•' 25,438,135 



Starting the Chilians upon the same principle, we find their number 
was in 1820, 100,000. In 1830, 133,333. And 



In 



1840 
1850 
1860 
1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 
1910 
1920 



about 



171,427 
214,283 
261,901 
314,281 
371,423 
433,326 
499,991 
571,418 
647,540 



In 



1930 
1940 
1950 
1960 
1970 
1980 
1990 
2000 



about 



728,482 

814,185 

904,650 

999,876 

1,099,863 

1,204,611 

1,314,121 

1,428,918 



Upon the same method we find the United Provinces of La Plata to 
have been in 1820, 2,000,000. In 1830, 2,666,666. And 



1840 
1850 
1860 
1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 
1910 
1920 



about 



3,428,570 

4,285,712 

5,238,181 

6,283,817 

7,517,238 

8,770,111 

10,119,358 

11,564,980 

13,106,910 



In 



1930 
1940 
1950 
1960 
1970 
1980 
1990 
2000 



about 14,745,273 
16,480,011 

» 18,311,123 

" 20,238,610 
22,262,471 

" 24,382,706 
26,599,315 

" 28,911,864 



Putting that last number with the Chilians, the Peruvians and the 
Colombians, the amount will be 98,482,772. Adding this with the 
number of their Spanish brethren of the North, we shall then see clear- 
ly that the Spanish population, still outnumber by almost one-third, the 
English or American descendants on the Continent; — but as the 
Americans, on account of their superior enterprise, will engross, in time, 
much more of the Islands of the Western Hemisphere than they will, 
and at the same time bringing the different dialects of their inhabitants 
into the English language; we may venture to predict, that at the pe- 
riod our calculation ends, whatever may be the difference in other res- 
pects, between the speakers of the Spanish and English languages, they 
will be almost equal in numbers, and equal participators in tiansmitting 
to posterity, the glorious monument of personal and national freedom^ 



APPENDIX. 



321 



Looking at the calendar of the Brazilian Portuguese, we see that they 
were registered in 1820, to 3,300,000. In 1830, 3,066,666. And 



In 



1840 
1850 
1860 
1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 
1910 
1920 



about 3,942,856 

4,928,570 

6,336,732 

" 7,564,078 

" 8,939,374 

" 10,585,936 

" 12,214,541 

13,959,475 

15,820,605 



In 



1930 
1940 
1950 
1960 
1970 
1980 
1990 
2000 



about 



16,798,180 
19,303,789 
21,448,654 
23,706,407 
26,077,047 
28,560,575 
31,157,009 
33,388,153 



By our joining the English, French, and Dutch Guianas together, 
we shall be led to suppose, that in all probability their united numbers in 
1820, were 200,000. In 1830, 233,333. And 

In 



1840 about 299,999 


In 


1930 


about 


1,254,655 


1850 


373,998 


" 


1940 


a 


1,398,882 


1860 


456,997 


(( 


1950 


li 


1,465,313 


1870 


648,398 


a 


1960 


« 


1,607,398 


1880 


648,104 


« 


1970 


« 


1,968,137 


1890 


756,121 


« 


1980 


ii 


2,155,578 


1900 


869,121 


(( 


1990 


" 


2,351,539 


1910 


993,554 


« 


2000 


« 


2,556,010 


1920 


1,125,027 











In uniting the numbers of the Guianians, Portuguese, and Spaniards 
of the South, we find their aggregate to be 134,426,835, which when 
enrolled with the contiential numbers of the North — amounts to 
389,921,802 — and when we add to thisnumber, the "West Indian Islands, 
we shall find that in the year 2000 (<" the Christian era, the whole num- 
ber of souls inhabiting the western w rid, will in all probability amount 
to the astonishing number of 420,303,990 — no doubt equal to all Asia, 
at the present day ; which has had thousands, instead of hundreds of 
years to settle up, and grow in. 

Dividing the 15,000,000 of square miles in the continent of America, 
among its inhabitants 165 years hence, it will be found, if our numerical 
calculations hold out, that there will be 26 individuals to the square mile . 
and if we should only allow one half of the whole continent to be cover- 
ed with uninhabitable mountains, uncultivatable wastes, undrainable 
lakes, and unstoppable rivers, there will in that case be 52 souls to the 
square mile of arable land ! 



THE 

CONSTITUTION 

OF THK 

MEXICAN UNITED STATES. 

The Supreme Executive Power, provisionally appointed by the gen- 
eral sovereign Congress of the Nation, to all who shall see these presents. 
Know, and understand, That the same Congress has decreed and 
sanctioned the following 

FEDERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED MEXICAN 
STATES. 

In the name of God, all powerful, author and supreme legislator of 
society. The general constituent Congress of the Mexican Nation, in 
the discharge of the duties confided to them by their constituents, in or- 
der to establish and fix its political Independence, establish and confirm 
its Liberty, and promote its prosperity and glory, decree as follows : 

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES. 
Title 1st. Onlt Section. — Of the Mexican JVation, its Terri- 
tory and Religion. 

Article 1. The Mexican Nation, is forever free and independent 
of' the Spanish government, and every other power. 

2. Its Territory consists of that, which was formerly called the vice- 
royalty of New-Spain, that styled the captain generalship of Tucaton, 
that of the commandant generalship formerly called the Internal Prov- 
inces of East and West, and that of Lower and Upper Caliafomia, 
with the lands annexed, and adjacent lands in both seas. By a consti- 
tutional law, a demarkation of the iinits of the Federation will be made 
as soon as circumstances will permit. 

3. The Religion of the Mexican Nation, is, and will be perpetually, 
the Roman Catholic Apostolic. The Nation will protect it by wise and 
just laws, and prohibit the exercise of any other whatever. 

Title 2d. Onlt Section. — Form of Government of the J^Tation, 
of its integral parts and division of Supreme Po-wer. 

4. The Mexican Nation adopts for its Government, the form of Re- 
publican representative, popular Federal. 

5. The parts of this Federation, are the States and Territories as fol- 
lows : — The State of the Chiapas, Chiuahua, Coahuila and Texas, 
Durango, Guanajuato, Mexico, Michoacan, New Leon, Oajaca, Puebla 
de los Angeles, Quetaro, San Luis Potosi, Sinora and Sinaloa, Tobasco, 
Tumaulipas, Vera Cruz, Xalisco, Yucatan Tacatecas ; the Territory of 
Upper Caliafomia, Lower Caliafornia, Colima and Santa Fe of New 
Mexico — a constitutional law shall fix the character of Tlaxcala. 

6. The supreme power of the Federation will be divided for its exer- 
cises, in liCgislative, Executive, and Judicial. 

Title 3d. Section 1st. — Legislative power, of its nature and 
the mode of exercising it. 

7. The legislative power of the Federation, shall be disposed in a 
322 



MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 328 

General Congress, this to be divided in two houses, one of Deputies 
(Representatives) and the other of Senators. 

Section 2d. — Of the House of Representatives. 

8. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Representa- 
tives elected totally every two years, by the citizens of the States. 

9. The qualifications of the electors shall be constitutionally prescribed 
by the Legislatures of the States ; to whom, likewise, appertains the 
regulation of the elections, in conformity with the principles establish- 
ed by this Constitution. 

10. The general basis for the appointment of representatives, shall be 
the population. 

11. For every 80,000 souls, one Representative shall be appointed, 
or for a fraction which passes 40,000. The State which may not con- 
tain this population, shall, notwithstanding, appoint one representative. 

12. A census of the whole Federation, which shall be formed in five 
years and renewed every ten, shall serve to designate the number of 
Deputies corresponding to each State ; and in the mean time, it shall 
be regulated agreeably to the basis established in the former Article, by 
the census which governed in the election of Deputies in the present 
Congress. 

13. In the same manner shall be elected in each State, the necessary 
number of supernumerary representatives, in the ratio of one for every 
three full representatives, or for a fraction amounting to two ; the States 
which may contain less than three full representatives shall elect one 
supernumerary. 

14. The Territory which may contain more than 40,000 inhabitants, 
shall appoint a full representative and one supernumerary, who shall 
have a voice and vote in the formation of laws and decrees. 

15. The Territory which may not contain the foregoii.g number of 
population, shall appoint one full representative and one supernumerary, 
who shall be entitled to a voice in all matters. The election of Repre 
sentatives for the Territories shall be regulated by a special law. 

16. In every State and Territory of the Federation, the appointment 
of Representatives shall be made on the first Sunday in October pre- 
vious to its renovation. The election to be indirect. 

17. The election of Representatives concluded, the electoral col- 
lege shall remit through their President to the Council of Government, 
a legal return of the election, and notify the elected of their appointment 
by an official letter, which shall serve as a credential of election. 

18. The President of the Council of Government shall give to the 
returns, referred to in the preceding Anicle, the direction prescribed by 
the regulations of said Council. 

19. To be a Representative it is required — First, To be at the time 
of the election, twenty-five years of age, complete. Second, To have 
been a resident of the State, from which elected, at least two years, or 
born in the State, although a resident in another. 

20. Those not born in the territory of the Mexican Nation, to be Re- 
presentatives, must have, besides eight years' residence in it, 8000 
dollars of real estate in any part of the Republic, or an occupation that 
produces them 1000 per year. 



324 MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 

21. Exceptions to the foregoing Article — First, Tliose born in any 
other part of America, that in 1810 appertained to Spain, and has not 
united itself to another nation, nor remains subject to the former, to 
whom three years' residence in the Territory of the Federation is suffi- 
cient, in addition to the requisite prescribed in the 19th Article. Second, 
The military not born in the Territory of the republic, who, with arms, 
sustained the independence of the country, eight years' residence, com- 
plete, is suiiicient, and the requisites prescribed in the 19th Article. 

22. In the election of Representatives, actual residence shall have 
preference over birth and non-residence. 

23. Those cannot be Representatives — First, Those deprived or 
suspended irom the rights of citizenship. Second, The President and 
Vice-President of the Federation. Third, The members of the Supreme 
Judicial Court. Fourth, Secretaries of the Cabinet and the officers of 
their departments. Fifth, Those employed in the Treasury, whose func- 
tions extend over the whole Federation. Sixth, Governors of States 
and Territories, Commandant Generals, Archbishops and Bishops, 
Governors of Archbishoprics and Bishoprics, Provisors and Vicar Gen- 
erals, Circuit Judges, Commissary Generals of treasury and war, for 
the States and Territories over which they exercise their functions. 

24. In order that any person enumerated in the foregoing Article may 
be eligible, it is necessary they should have ceased their functions six 
months previous to their election. 

Sectiojt 3d. — Of the Senate. 

25. The Senate shall be composed of two Senators from each State, 
elected by an absolute majority of the votes of the Legislatures, and 
renewed by one-half every two years. 

2G. The seats of the Senators appointed in the second place, shall 
be vacated in two years, and the first appointed in four years, and so 
on in succession. 

27. When a vacancy occurs by the death, resignation, or other cause, 
it shall be filled by the corresponding Legislature in session, if not as 
sooii as it meets. 

28. To be a Senator it is necessary to possess all the qualifications re 
quired by the former Section, to be a representative, and moreover, to 
be at the time of election, thirty years of age. 

29. No person can be a Senator, who is disquaUfied from being a 
Representative. 

30. In the election of Senators, the 22d Article shall also govern. 

31. When the same individual is elected for a Senator and Repre- 
sentative, the first election shall have the preference. 

32. The periodical election of Senators shall be made in all the 
States on the same day, which shall be on the first day of September 
previous to the renewal of half the Senators. 

33. The election of Senators concluded, the Legislature shall remit 
a legal return through their President, to the President of the Council 
of Government; and notify the elected of their appointment, by means 
of an official letter, which shall serve them as credentials. The Presi- 
dent of the Council of Government shall give the direction to these re- 
turns indicated in the 18th Article. 



MEXICAN CONSTITUTION". 325 

Section 4th. — Of the Individual Functions of both Houses and 
Prerogatives of its J\f embers. 

34. Each House in its preparatory meeting-, and in every thing ap- 
pertaining to its government, shall follow the rule formed by the present 
Congress ; provided that amendments may be made to them in future, 
should both Houses consider it necessary. 

35. Each House shall judge of the elections of its respective mem- 
bers, and resolve all doubts which may occur in them. 

36. The Houses cannot open their sessions without the presence of 
more than the half of the total number of its members ; but those pres- 
ent of one and the other, must unite on the day appointed for the regu- 
lation of the internal government of each, and respectively compel the 
attendance of the absentees, under the penalties prescribed by the law. 

37. The Houses will communicate with one another, and with the 
Supreme Executive Power, by means of their respective Secretaries, or 
by means of deputations. 

38. Either of the two Houses may sit as Grand Jurors, on accusa- 
tions. First, Against the President of the Federation, for the crime of 
Ti-eason against the National Independence or the establislied form of 
Government, or for subordination or bribery during the time' of his ser- 
vice. Second, also, against the President, for acts manifestly intended 
to impede the election of President, Senators, or Representatives, or 
to prevent them from entering on the exercise of their duties in the man- 
ner prescribed in this Constitution, or to deprive the Chambers of the use 
of any of the powers constitutionally vested in them. Third, against the 
members of the Supreme Court and the Secretaries of the departments, 
for any crime committed during the time of their service. Fouilh, against 
the Governors of the States, for infractions on the Federal Constitution, 
laws of the Union, or orders of the President of the Federation, which may 
not be manifestly contrary to the Constitution and general laws of the 
Union, and likewise by the publication of-laws and decrees of the Legisla- 
tures of their respective States, contrary to the same constitution and laws. 

39. The House of Representatives will exclusively form a Grand 
Jury, when the President or his ministers may be accused of acts in 
which the Senate or the Council of Government have con^iurred by reason 
of its attributions. The House will, in the same manner, serve as 
Grand Juror, in cases of accusation against the Vice-President, for any 
offence committed during the term of his service. 

40. The House, before which has been made the accusation of the indi- 
vidual spoken of in the two preceding articles will form itseif in a Grand Ju- 
ry, and if it is declared, by the vote of two-thirds of the members present, 
that there is cause of accusation, the functions of the accused shall be sus- 
pended, and he shall be placed at the disposition of the competent tribunal. 

41. Any Representative or Senator, can make any proposition in 
writing, or present projects of a law or decree in his respective chamber. 

42. The Representatives and Senators shall be inviolable for the 
opinions manifested in the discharge of their duties, and never can be 
called to account for them. 

43. In all criminal prosecutions instituted against Senators or Repre- 
sentatives, from the time of their election until two months after the 

2C 



326 MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 

expiration of their term of service, the former shall be accused before 
the Chamber of the latter, and the latter before that of the former ; 
each Chamber composing a Grand Jury respectively for this object. 

44. If the Chamber sitting as a Grand Jury, in the cases referred to 
in the last Article, declare by a vote of two-thirds of the members pres- 
ent, that there is cause for accusation, the accused shall be suspended 
and placed at the disposition of the competent tribunal. 

45. The emoluments of the Representatives and Senators shall be 
determined by lavs^, and paid from the general treasury of the Federation. 

46. Each House, and also the meetings spoken of in the 36th Arti- 
cle, shall have power to deliver such orders as they may deem necessary 
to carry their resolutions into effect, issued by virtue of the functions 
granted to each by the 35th, 36th, 39th, 40th, 44th, and 45th Articles 
of the Constitution, and the President of the United States shall cause 
them to be executed without making any observations upon them. 

Section 5. — Of the facilities of the General Congress. 

47. Every resolution of the general Congress shall have the character 
of a law or decree. 

48. The resolutions of the general Congress, to be entitled to the force 
of law or decree, must be signed by the President, except in cases other- 
wise provided in this Constitution. 

49. The laws and decrees which emanate from the general Congress, 
shall have for object — First, to sustain the National Independence, aad 
provide for the National security and preservation of its exterior rela- 
tions. Second, to preserve the Federal Union of the States, and the 
peace and public order of the interior of the Federation. Third, main- 
tain the independence of the States among themselves, in all that relates 
to their interior government, in conformity to the Constitutional Act, 
and this Constitution. Fourth, sustain the proportional equality of ob- 
ligations and rights, which the States are entitled to before the law. 

50. The exclusive faculties of the general Congress are the follow- 
ing: — First, promote illustration, assuring for a limited time, exclusive 
rights to authors for their respective works ; establishing Colleges for 
marine, artillery, and engineers; erecting one or more establishments in 
which are to be taught, natural, political, and moral sciences, noble arts, 
and the languages, without prejudice to the power which the Legisla- 
tures have to regulate public education in their respective States. Se- 
cond, promote the general prosperity, by opening and improving roads and 
canals, without impeding the States in the improvement of theirs ; estab- 
lishing mails and post-offices, and securmg for a limited time, exclusive 
right to the inventors, perfectioners or introducers of any branch of in- 
dustry, for their respective inventions, perfections, or new introductions, 
Third, protect and regulate the political liberty of the press, in order 
that its exercises may never be suspended, and much less abolished in 
any of the States and Territories of the Federation. Fourth, admit 
new States to the Federal Union or Territories, incorporating them in the 
Nation. Fifth, regulate definitively, the Limits of the States, when they 
cannot agree among themselves about the demarkation of their respec- 
tive districts. Sixth, form States out of Territories, or unite them to 
those already existing. Seventh, unite two or more States, by a peti- 



MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 327 

%ion of their Legislatures, to form one only, or form a new one from the 
limits of those that already exist, with the approbation of three-fourths 
of the members present of both houses, and a ratification of an equal 
number of the Legislatures of the other States of the Union. Eighth, 
fix the general expenses, establish the necessary contributions to cover 
them, regulate their collection, determine the inversion, and take annu- 
ally accounts thereof firom the Government. Ninth, contract debts upon 
the credit of the Federation, and designate guarantees to cover them. 
Tenth, acknowledge the National debt, and designate means for its 
consolidation and payment. Eleventh, regulate the commerce with for- 
eign nations, and among the different States and Tribes of Indians. 
Twelfth, give instructions to celebrate covenants with the Apostolic 
Chair, approve them for their ratification, and regulate the exercise of 
the patronage in all parts of the Nation. Thirteenth, approve treaties 
of peace, alliance, friendship, federation, armed neutrality, and whatso- 
ever others which the President of the United States may celebrate with 
foreign powers. Fourteenth, to establish all kinds of ports, custom- 
houses, and designate their locations. Fifteenth, determine and regu- 
late the weight, standard, value, type and denomination of money in 
all the States of the Federation, and adopt a general system of weights 
and measures. Sixteenth, declare war after examining the data pre- 
scribed by the President of the United States. Seventeenth, form regu- 
lations relative to granting letters of marque and reprisal, and to declare 
good or bad captures by sea and land. Eighteenth, designate the armed 
force of sea and land, fix the respective quota of men to each State, and 
give orders and regulations for their organization and service. Nineteenth, 
form regulations to organize, arm, and discipline the local militia of the 
State, reserving to each one the appointment of their respective officers, 
and the faculty of training them conformably to the discipline prescribed 
by said regulations. Twentieth, to grant or deny the entrance of foreign 
troops in the Territory of the Federation. Twenty-first, permit or not, 
the station of squadrons of any other power, for more than one month, in 
the Mexican ports. Twenty-second, permit or not, the departure of Na- 
tional troops without the limits of the Federation. Twenty-third, create 
or suppress public offices of the Federation, designate, augment or dimin 
ish their emoluments and pensions. Twenty -fourth, grant premiums and 
recompenses to corporations or persons who have rendered important 
services to the Republic, and decree public honors to the posthumous 
memory of great men. Twenty -fifth, grant amnesty or pardon for crimes, 
the cognizance of which appertains to the tribunal of the Federation, 
in the cases, and with the previous requirements prei^cribed by law. 
Twenty-sixth, to establish a general law of naturalization. Twenty -se- 
venth, to give uniform laws in every State, on the subject of bankruptcies. 
Twenty-eighth, to select a place to serve as a residence for the supreme 
powers of the Federation, and exercise within its limits the attributions 
of the legislative powers of the State. Twenty-ninth, to change such 
residence when they may deem it necessary. Thirtieth, give laws and 
decrees for the regulation of the interior administration of the Territories. 
Thirty-first, dictate all the laws and decrees that may be conducive to 
fulfil the object spoken of in the 49th Article, without interfering with 
the interior administration of the State. 



328 MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 

Section 6th.— Formation of the Laws. 

51. The formation of laws and decrees can proceed indiscriminately from ei- 
ther of the two Houses, with the exception of those which arise from contribu- 
tions or imposts, which cannot have origin except in the House of Representa- 
tives. 

52. There shall be considered asincipients of law or decree — First, the propo- 
sitions wliich the President of the United Mexican States may deem conducive 
to the general good of society, and as such, particularly recommend tJiem to the 
House of Representatives. Second, the propositions or plans of laws or decrees 
which the Legislatures may direct to either House. 

53. All projtictsof a law or decree, without any exception, shall be successively 
discussed in both Houses, observing in each with exactitude, the rules relative to 
the form of debates, interval and mode of proceeding in discussing and voting. 

54. The projects of a law or decree rejected in tlie House where it originated, 
before being sent to the other House, shall not be renewed in the same House by 
its members in the sessionsof that year, but must remain until the following year, 

55. If the project of a law or decree, after having been debated, should be ap- 
proved by the absolute majority of the members present of both Houses, shall be 
passed to the President of the United States, who also, if lie approves it, shall 
sign and publisli it, and if not, return it, with his ol)servations, within the term 
of ten days, (Sundays and solemn festivals excepted,) to the House of its origin. 

56. The project of a law or decree, returned by the President in conformity 
with the preceding Article, shall be a second time discussed in the two Houses. 
If in both of these it should be approved by two-thirds of the members present, 
it shall be again returned to the President, who, without excuse, must sign it and 
publish it, but if it was not approved by the vote of two-thirds of both Houses, 
it cannot be renewed in either of them until the next year. 

57. If the President does not return any project of a law or decree within the 
time prescribed in the 55th Article, it shall, from that circumstance be considered 
as sanctioned, and as such shall be promulgated, unless in the mean time, the 
session of Congress should be closed or suspended, in which case the return 
must be made on the first day in which Congress shall be re-assembled. 

58. The project of a law or decree, totally rejected for the first time by the 
House to which it has been sent, shall be returned with their observations to the 
one in which it originated, if after a re-examination the said House shall again 
approve of it by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, it shall be sent a 
second time to the House that rejected it, who cannot a second time reject it 
without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

59. The projects of a law or decree, approved of after a second revision by 
two-thirds of the members of the House where it originated, and not rejected by 
two-thirds of the members of the other House, siiall be sent fo the President, 
who shall sign and publish it, or return it within ten days (Sundays, &c. ex- 
cepted) to the House where it originated, with his observations. 

60. The project of a law or decree, which according to the foregoing Article, the 
President returned to the House of its origin, it shall be again taken into consid- 
eration, and if this approves it by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, 
and the revising body does not reject, by an equal number of its members, it shall 
be returned to the President, who must publish it. But if it was not approved by 
the vote of two-thirds of the House of its origin, or was rejected by an equal 
number of the revising body, it cannot be renewed until the ordinary subsequent 
sessions. 

61. In the event of the rejection a second time of the revising body, in con- 
formity with the 58th Article, the project shall be considered rejected', and can- 
not be reconsidered until the following year. 

62. In the amendments which the revising body make to any project of a law 
or decree, there shall be observed the same formalities required before the project 
of a law can be sent to the President. 

63. The parts of a project of a law or decree rejected for the first time by the 
revising body, shall take the same course as those totally rejected by it for the 
first time. 

64. In the interpretation, modification, or revocation of the laws or decrees, 
the same requisites shall be oliscrved which are prescribed for their formation. 

65. All resolutions of the general Congress communicated to the President of 
the Republic, nsust be signed by the President of both Houses and by a Secretary 
of each one of them. 

6G . For the formation of every law or decree, it is necessary that an absolute 
majority of all the members of each House should be present in their respectivo 
Houses. 



MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 329 

Section 7th. Of the time, duration and place of the Sessions of the General 
Congress. 

67. The general Congress shall meet every year on the first day of January 
at the place designated by law ; its internal rules shall prescribe the previous 
forms necessary at the opening of its sessions and the formalities which are to 
be observed at its installation. 

68. The President of the Federation shall assist at the installation, and pro- 
nounce a discourse analogous to this important act, and the person who presides 
in Congress, shall answer it in general terms. 

69. The ordinary sessions of Congress shall be daily without any other inter- 
ruption than that of the days of solemn festival, and in order to adjourn for more 
than three days, the consent of both Houses shall be necessary. 

70. Both Houses shall reside in the same place, and cannot move to another, 
without first agreeing on the removal, the time and manner of effecting it, desig- 
Hating the same point, for the reunion of one and the other. But if they agree 
on a removal, and differ as to the time, mode, and place, the President of the 
States shall determine the difference, electing one of those in question. 

71. The Congress shall close its sessions annually on the ]5th day of April, 
with the same formalities as are prescribed for its opening, proroguing the ses- 
sion 30 days, (Sundays and solemn festivals excepted) when they may deem it 
necessary, or when the President of the Federation requires it. 

72. When the general Congress is assembled for extraordinary sessions, it shall 
be formed of the same Representatives and Senators as the ordinary sessions of 
that year, and shall occupy itself exclusively on the object or objects for which 
it was convened ; but if these should not be completed on the day in which the 
ordinary sessions are to commence, the extraordinary sessions shall cease, and 
the subject pending shall be determined by Congress in said ordinary sessions. 

73. The resolution that the Congress take relative to the removal, suspension, 
or prorogation of their sessions, agreeably to the three preceding Articles, shall 
be communicated to the President, who shall cause them to be executed without 
making any observations upon them. 

Title 4lh. Section 1st. — Of the Supreme Executive Power of the Juration. 

74. The supreme executive power of the Federation shall be deposited in one 
individual, who shall be styled President of the United Mexican States. 

75. There shall likewise be a Vice President, on whom will devolve the facul- 
ties and prerogatives of the President, in case of his physical or moral inability 
to serve. 

76. To be President or Vice President, it is required to be a Mexican citizen 
by birth, thirty-five years of age at the time of the election, and to be a resident 
in the country. 

77. The President cannot be reelected for -this office, until after four years are 
passed from the time of his retirement. 

78. He that is elected President or Vice President of the Republic, shall accept 
these offices in preference to any others. 

79. The first day of September, anterior to the year in which the new Presi- 
dent must enter on the exercise of his duties, the Legislatures of each State shall 
elect by an absolute majority of votes two individuals one of which, at least, 
must not be a native of the State that elects. 

80. The voting concluded, the Legislature shall remit to the President of the 
Council of Government, a legal return of the election, in order that he may give 
it the course designated by the rules of the Council. 

81. The sixth of January afterwards, the said returns shall be read in presence 
of both Houses united, provided those of three-fourths of the Legislatures of the 
States have been received. 

82. Tlie reading of said returns concluded, the Senators shall retire, and a 
committee appointed by the House of Representatives, and composed of one for 
each State of those that have Representatives present, shall revise them and 
render an account of the result. 

83. The House shall then proceed to class the elections and enumerate the 
votes. 

84. He who has an absolute majority of the votes of all the Legislatures shall 
be the President. 

85. If two should have said majority, he shall be President who has the most 
votes, and the other Ihe Vice President. In case of a tie with said majority, the 
House of Representatives shall elect one of the two for President, and tJie other 
shall be Vice President. 

86. If no one sbould have the absolute majority of the votes of the Legisla- 
tures, the House of Representatives shall elect the President and Vice President, 



330 MEXICAN CONSTITUTIOIN. 

choosing in each election, one of the two which hail the greatest number of 
suffrages. 

87. When more than two individuals have a respective majority and equaJ 
number of votes, the House shall choose from them the President or Vice Presi 
dent as the case may be. 

88. If one has received the respective majority, and two or more have an 
equal number of sufimges but greater than the others, the House shall elect from 
those who have the greatest number of votes. 

89. If all have an equal number of votes, the House shall elect from among 
them all, the President and Vice President, doing the same when one has a num 
ber of suffrages and the others an equal number. 

90. If there should be a tie upon the voting of the classing of the elections made 
by the Legislatures, the votes shall be repeated once, and if it should result in a 
lie, shall decide it by lot. 

91. In the competitions between three or more that have an equal number of 
votes, the voting sliall be directed to the reduction of the competitors to two or 
one, in order that in the election he may contend with the other, that may have 
obtained a relative majority over all the others. 

92. For a general rule in voting, relative to the election of President and Vice 
President, they shall not refer to lots before having made a second vote. 

93. The voting on classifications of elections made by the Legislatures, and on 
those made by the House of Representatives for President and Vice President, 
shall be made by States, the representation of each one having a single vote, and 
in order that there may be a decision in the House, it must contain an absolute 
majority of the votes. 

94. In order to deliberate on the objects contained in the foregoing Article, 
there must be united in the House more than the half of the total number of its 
members, and be present. Representatives from three-fourths of the States. 
Section 2d, — Duration of the office of President and Vice President, manner of 

filling the vacancies of both, and their oath. 

95. The President and Vice President of the Federation shall enter upon the 
discharge of their duties on the first of April, and shall be replaced precisely on 
the same day every four years by a new constitutional election. 

96. If for any motive, the elections of President and Vice President are not 
made and published by the first of April when they ought to take their seats, or 
those elected should not immediately enter upon the discharge of their duties, 
nevertheless, the former ones shall go out of office the same day, and the supreme 
executive power shall be deposited, provisionally, in a President, that shall be 
elected by the House of Representatives, voting by States. 

97. In case the President should be indisposed, then the provisions in the pre- 
ceding Article shall have effect, and if both should be at the same time, and 
Congress not being in session, the Supreme Executive Power shall be deposited 
in the hands of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and two individuals that 
shall be e-lected by an absolute plurality of votes by the Council of Government ; 
these are not to be members of the general Congress, and are to have the quali- 
ties requisite to be a President of the Federation. 

98. Until the elections are made to which the preceding Articles allude, the 
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall be charged with the Supreme Execu- 
tive Power. 

99. In case of the perpetual inability of the President and Vice President to 
serve. Congress, or in its recess, the Council of Government, will respectively 
provide acrording to Articles 96 and 97, and so dispose that the Legislatures 
proceed to the election of President and Vice President, according to the foraia 
prescribed by the Constitution. 

100. The elections of President and Vice President, made by the Legislatures, 
in consequence of the perpetual inability of those to serve who had been elected 
for these otfices, shall not impede the ordinary elections the first of September 
every four years. 

101. The President and Vice President newly elected, must be on the first day 
of April, in the place where the supreme powers of the Federation reside, and 
before both Houses assembled, swear to observe the duties imposed on them un- 
der the following form. 

" I, N— Elected President (or Vice President) of the United Mexican States, 
swpar before God and the Holy Evangelists, that I will exercise faithfully, the 
charge the same U. S. have confided in me, and that I will keep, and cause to be 
kept exactly, the Constitution and general laws of the Foderntion." 

102. If neither the President or Vice President present themselves to swear 
as the preceding Article provides, and tlie sessions of Congress being open, 



MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 331 

vhey shall swear before the Council of Government as soon as each one presents 
himself. 

103. If the Vice President takes the oath prescrihed in Article 101, liefore the 
President, he shall enter immediately on the discharge of the duties of President 
until he shall have sworn. 

104. The President and Vice President constitutionally appointed according 
to Article 99, and those individuals provisionally appointed to exercise the charge 
of President, acrordins to Articles 96 and 97, shall be sworn as prescribed in Ar- 
ticle !01, before both Houses, if assembled, if not, before the Council of Govern- 
ment. 

Section ?d. — Of the prerogatives of the President and Vice President. 

105. Tl:e President has the power to lay before Congress such propositions or 
amendments of laws as he may deem conducive to the general good, directing 
them to the house of Representatives. 

106. The President has the power once in the space of ten days (Sundays and 
solemn festivals excepted) to make observations upon the laws and decrees pass- 
ed to him by Congress, suspending their publication until tlie resolution of Con- 
gress, except in the cases mentioned in this Constitution. 

107. The President, during the time of his administration, cannot be accused, 
except before eitl er of the Houses, and only in crimes alluded to in Article 38, 
committed in the time therein expressed. 

10b. Within one year from the day on which the President ceases his func- 
tions, he cannot be accused except before one of the Houses for crimes alluded 
to in Article :18, or any others committed during tlie term of his administration, 
after this he cannot be accused for those crimes. 

109. The Vice President, during the four years of his administration, cannot 
be accused except before the House of Representatives, for whatever crime he 
commits during the time of his administration. 

Section 4th — Attributions of the President and the restrictions of his faculties . 

110. The attributions of the President are the following : First, to publish, 
circulate, and cause to be kept, the laws and decrees of the general Congress. 
Second, to give rules and decrees, and orders for the better observance of the 
Constitution, constitutional act and general laws. Third, to put into execu- 
tion the laws and decrees directed to preserve the integrity of the Federa- 
tion, and to sustain its Independence in its exterior, together with its union and 
liberty in its interior. Fourth, to name and remove freely. Secretaries of the 
departments. Fifth, to direct the collection of, and decree the inversion of 
general contributions agreeably to the laws. Sixth, to name the officers of the 
Treasury department, and those of the commissary generals, diplomatic minis- 
ters, and consuls, colonels and other superiorx)fficers of the permanent army, ac- 
tive militia and navy, with the approbation of the Senate, and should it not be 
in session, with the Council of Government. Seventh, to name all other offi- 
cers of the permanent army, navy and active militia, and officers of the Federa- 
tion, conformably to the laws. Eighth, to appoint, after previous recommenda- 
tion from tlie Supreme Court, Judges and Attorney Generals of the Circuit and 
District. Ninth, to grant discharges, grant licenses, and regulate military pen- 
sions according to law. Tenth, to dispose of the permanent armed force by 
sea and land, and the active militia for the security cvf the interior and defence 
of the exterior of the Federation. Eleventh, to dispose of the focal militia for 
the same purposes, but to take them out of their respective States or Territories, 
it will require the previous consent of Congress, who will also designate the 
force necessary. Should Congress not be assembled, the consent of the Council 
of Government will be necessary, and who will also designate the number. 
Twelfth, to declare war in the name of the United Mexican States, after a prev- 
ious decree of Congress to that effect, and to grant commissions to Privateers in 
conformity with the laws. Thirteenth, to celebrate covenants with the Apostolic 
Chair, as designated in clause 12th of Article 50. Fourteenth, to direct diplo- 
matic negociations, and to celebrate treaties of peace, amity, alliance, truce, fede- 
ration, armed neutrality, commerce, and all others, but to give or deny the 
ratification of any of them, requires the approbation of the general Congress. 
Fifteenth, to receive ministers and other envoys from foreign nations. Sixteenth, 
to request Congress to prorogue their sessions for thirty days (Sundays &c. ex- 
cepted.) Seventeenth, to assemble Congress for extraordinary sessions, as he 
may deem the case necessary, by the consent of two-thirds of the Council of 
Government present. Eighteenth, also assemble an extraordinary session of 
Congress, when the Council of Government shall deem it necessary, and the 
vote of two-thirds of the members present, is given to that effect. Nineteenth, 
to see that justice is promptly and impartially administered by the Supreme 



332 MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 

Courts, Tribunals, and inferior courts of the Federation, and that their senten- 
ces be executed according to iaw. Twentieth to suspend from their employ- 
ments, for tlie space of tiiroe months, and deprive one iialf of their pay for the 
same time, all officers belonging to the Federation, violaters of its orders and de- 
crees ; and should there be cause for a prosecution against such officers, he shall 
place the subject before its proper tribunal. Twenty-first, to grant the passage, 
or retain the decrees of the Ecclesiastical Councils, Pontifical Bulls, Briefs and 
Rescripts, with the consent of the general Congress, if they contain general dis- 
positions to be laid before the Senate, or in its recess, before the Council of Gov- 
ernment, if containing governmental business, and before the Supreme Court of 
Justice, if it is a subject of litigation. 

111. The President, in pullisbing laws and decrees, shall use the following 
form : " The President of the United Mexican States, to the inhabitants of the 
Republic, ^no?^, that the general Congress have decreed the following: (here 
the subject) Therefore, I command that it be printed, published, and circulated, 
and that due compliance be given it." 

112. The restrictions of the faculties of the President are the following: First, 
the President cannot take command of the forces by sea or land in person, with- 
out the previous consent of the general Congress, or should it not be in session, 
without the Council of Government, by a vote of two-thirds of the members 
present. When he takes the command with these requisites, the Vice-President 
shall administer the Government. Second, the President has not the right to 
Jepri ve any one of his liberty nor inflict punishment on any individual but when 
the safety of the Federation requires it, he can arrest any person provided he 
places the person, arrested, within 48 hours, at the disposition of the competent 
judge or tribunal. Third, the President cannot occupy the property of any indi- 
vidual or corporation, or disturb the possession, use, or benefit of it; and should 
it be necessary for the public good, to take the property of any individual or cor- 
poration, it will require the approbation of the Senate, or in its recess, the appro- 
bation of the Council of Government, indemnifying the party interested, by the 
decision of men chosen by the party and the Government. Fourth, the Presi- 
dent cannot impede the elections and other acts expressed in the last clause of 
the 38th Article. Fifth, the President or Vice President, cannot leave the Terri- 
tory of the Republic without the consent of Congress, during the discharge of 
their duties and for one year after they retire from office. 

Section .5th. — Of the Council of Oovernment. 

113. During the recess of Congress there shall be a council of Government, 
composed of one half of the members of the Senate, one for each State. 

114. For the first two years, this Council of Government shall be composed of 
the first members elected by their respective Legislatures, and the succeeding 
year by the oldest members. 

115. This Council shall liave for President, the Vice President of the United 
Stp.tes, and also have the power to elect a President pro tem. to fill the vacancy 
occasioned by the absence of the other. 

lie. The attril)Utions of this Council are the following: First, to see that th«; 
Constitution is strictly observed, and the constitutional act, and general laws, 
and to give their advice in any incident relative to these objects. Second, to lay 
before the President any observations conducive for the better compliance of the 
Constitution and laws of the Union. Third, to determine of themselves only, 
the advice of the President, the calling of extraordinary sessions of Congress; 
but in either, it sliall require the vote of two-thirds of the counsellors present, as 
stated in attributions I7and 18, of Article 110. Fourth, to grant their consent to 
the calling out of the local militia, in the mannerstated in Article 110, attribution 
11. Fifth, to a|)prove the appointment of officers designated in attribution 6, of 
Article 110. Sixth, to give their consent in the case referred to in Article 112, 
restriction first. Seventh, to name two individuals who shall, in conjunction 
with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, provisionally exercise the Supreme 
executive Power, as prescrilied in Article 97. Eighth, to administer the oatK 
stated in Article 101, to those individuals of the Supreme executive Power, in 
the terms provided in this Constitution. Ninth, to give their opinion on subjects 
referred to them by the President, by virtue of the 21st faculty of Article 110, 
and all business wherein he may consult them. 
' Section 6th. — Of the despatch of Government business. 

117. For a despatch of government busine.ssof the Republic.thcre shall be the 
number of Secretaries of State, whicli Congress by a law may establish. 

118. All the regulations, decrees, and orders of the President, must be signed 
by the Secretary of State of the drpartn)ent to which the subject belongs, and 
without this pre-requisiie tjiey shall not he obeyed 



MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 333 

119. The Secretaries of State shall be responsible for the actsof theTresident, 
unauthorized by their signatures, contrary to the Constitution, Constitutional 
Act, and general laws and '■onstitutions of the States. 

120. The Secretaries of State shall give to each House, as soon as their annual 
sessions are opened, an account of the state of their respective departments, 

121. To be a Secretary of State it is necessary to he a Mexican citizen by birth 

122. The Secretaries of State shall form a regulation for the better distribution 
and direction of their duties, which shall be passed by the Government to the 
Congress for their approbation. 

Title 5th. Section 1st. — Of the Judicial power of the Confederation. 

123. The Judicial Power of the Federation shall reside in one Supreme Court 
of Justice, and in the Circuit and Distr'ct Courts. 

Section 2d. — Of the Supreme Court of Justice, the election, term of service, 
and oath of its mfonbers. 

124. The Supreme Court of Justice shall be composed of eleven members divi- 
ded into three halls, and one Attorney General. Congress may augment or di- 
minish its number as they deem necessary. 

125. To he elected a Judge of the Supreme Court of Justice, it is necessary to 
have been instructed in the science of public rights, according to the judgments 
of the Legislatures of the States, to be 35 years of age, to be a native born citizen 
of the Republic, or born in any part of America, which in 1810, was dependent 
on Spain, and has separated from her, piovided they have been five years resi- 
dent within tlie territory of the Republic. 

126. The Judges of the Supreme Court of Justice shall hold their ofSces during 
good behaviour, and can only be removed in the mode prescribed by the laws. 

127. The election of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Justice shall be made 
on the same day by the Legislatures of the States, by an absolute majority of votes. 

128. The elections concluded, each Legislature shall remit to the Council of 
Government a certified list of the twelve persons elected, designating which one 
of them was elected the Attorney General. 

129. The President of the Council, as soon as he shall have received the lists 
from at least three-fourths of the Legislatures of the States, shall give them direc- 
tion indicated by the rules of the Council. 

130. On the day designated, the Congress shall open and read the said lists in 
presence of both Houses united, after which the Senate shall retire. 

131. In continuation, the House of Representatives shall appoint, by an abso- 
lute majority of votes, a committee, which shall be composed of one member 
from each State, from which there was any member present, to which commit- 
tee the said lists shall be passed, who will revise and examine them, and render 
an account of the result; and the House shall then proceed to class the election 
and count the votes. 

132. The individual or individuals who may have received more than half tho votes 
of the whole number of the Legislatures, without regard to the number of votes 
given by their respective members, shall be considered elected; and the declaration 
of the House to that effect shall immediately entitle them to their seats. 

133. Should those who may have received the necessary majority of votes agreea- 
bly to tho last article, not amount to 12, the House shall elect the balance from those 
who had the highest number of votes before the Legislatures, observing in every 
Jhing relative to these elections the provisions of the first sectiuu of the 4th title, 
which treats of the election of President and Vice President. 

134. Should a Senator or Representative be elected a Judge of the Supreme Court 
of Justice, his election to that office shall be preferred over the other. 

135. When a vacancy occurs in a Supreme Court of Justice by perpetual inability, 
it shall be filled agreeably to this section, after a previous notification given by the 
Governor to the Legislature of the state of said vacancy. 

136. The members of the Supreme Court of Justice on entering upon the exercise 
of the office shall take an oath in the presence of the President of the Republic, in 
the following form : '• You swear to God our Lord, faithfully to discharge the du- 
ties and obligations confided to you by the nation— if you do this God will reward 
you, if otherwise he will punish you." 

Section 2A.—0f the attributions of the Supreme Court of 'Justice. 

137. The attributions of the Supreme Court are the following: First, to take cog- 
nisance of the difference which may arise between one an.l another state of the Fede- 
ration, whenever it embraces a subject of litigation in which there must be a formal 
sentence, and those that arise between one state and one or more inhabitants of 
another, or between individuals about pretensions to lands under concession fr»m 
states, without depriving the party of the right of reclaiming the concession from 
the authority which granted it. Second, to terminate all disputes which arise, or 



334 MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 

contracts or negotiations made by the Supreme Government or its agents. Third, 
consult relative to publishin;? or retaining of Poniificial Bulls, Briefs, and Rescripts 
issued in matters liri^^ant. Fourth, adjust any dispute that may exist among the tri- 
bunals of the Federation, and between inese and ihosuof the states, and those which 
may arise between the tribunals of one staleaiid those of another. Fifth, to lake con- 
noisance ; First, of the prosecutions moved against the President and Vice President 
accoi'ding to a? tides 38 and ;5j, after the previous dcclaraiion in article 40. Secontl, 
of the criminal prosecutions of the Representatives and Senators, indicated in article 
43, after the previous declaration re([uired in article 44. Third, of those against 
Governors of the states in the cases S|)okeii of in article 38, in its third part, after 
the previous declaration required in article 40. Fourth, of those of Secretaries of 
State in conformity with articles 38 and 40. Fifth, of the civil and criminal affairs 
of the Diplomatic Ministers and Consuls oi the Republic. Sixth, of the Admiralty 
cases, cautures by sea, land, and contraband, of crimes committed on the high sea, 
of the otrences against.the United Mexican States, of those emjiloycd in the Treasury 
and Judiciary of the Federation, and of the infractions of the Constitution and gene- 
ral laws, as may bo jirovided for by law. 

13.3. A law shall regulate the mode and grade by which the Supreme Court of 
Justice shall take cognizance of the cases comprehended in this section. 

Section 4th. — Of the mode of judging the members of the Supreme Court. 

139. In order to Judge the members of the Supreme Court, the House of Repre- 
sentatives shall elect, voting by States, in the first month of the ordinary sessions of 
each biennial, twenty-four individuals not appertaining to the general Congress, and 
who shall possess the qualifications required for Judges of the Supreme Court, from 
tliese there sball be elected by lot an Attorney General, and an equal number of 
Judges equal to that which composes the first Hall of the Court, and whenever it 
may be necessary the same House shall ()roceed, and in its recess, the Council of 
Government, to draw in the same manner Judges of the other Halls. 

Section 5th.— 0/ the Circuit Courts. 

140. The Circuit Court shall !;e composed of a Judge of the law and a prosecuting 
Attorney, both ajipointed by the Supreme Executive Power, proposed by the Su- 
preme Court, and two Associate Judges, as the law may prescribe. 

141. In order to be a Circuit Judge it is necessary to be a citizen of the Federa- 
tion, and thirty years of age. 

142. To these Tribunals, corresponds the cognizance of admiralty cases, captures 
by sea and land, contraband, crimes committed on the high sea, offences against the 
United Mexican States, cases of consuls, and civil cases whose value exceeds $500,, 
and in which the Federation are interested. By a law, shall be designated the num- 
ber of these Tribunals, their respective jurisdictions, the mode, form, and grade, in 
which they must exercise their powers in these and other matters which come un- 
der the cognizance of the Supreme Court of Justice. 

Section 6th.— 0/ the District Courts. 

143. The United Mexican States shall be divided into a certain numberof districts,, 
and in each one of which, there shall be a tribunal presided by a judge of the law» 
which shall take cognizance without appeal, of all civil cases in which the Federa- 
tion is interested, the amount of which does not exceed $500, and shrJl have original' 
jurisdiction in all cases in which the Circuit Courts have appellate jurisdiction. 

144. In order to be a District Judge, it is necessary to be a citizen of the United 
Mexican States, and twenty-five years of age. The Judges shall be appointed by 
the President, proposed by the Supreme Court. 

Section 7th. — General Rules to which all the States and Territories in the Federa- 
tion ehall conform in the administration of .Justice. 

145. In each one of the States of the Federation, full faith and credit shall be 
given to (he acts, registers, and proceedings of the judges and other authorities of 
the other States. The general Congress shall regulate the laws by which said acts, 
registers, and proceedinss shall be authenticated. 

146. The sentence of infamy shall not extend beyond the criminal that may have 
merited it according to law. 

147. There is forever prohibited the penalty of confiscation of estates. ■ 

148. There is forever prohibited all judgments by commission and all retro-active 
laws. 

14!). No authority shall apply any species of torture, whatever maybe the nature 
or state of the prosecution. 

1.50. No one shall be imprisoned, unless there is a reasonable ground to suppose 
him criminal. 

151. No one shall be imprisoned on suspicion more than seventy hours. 

352. No authority shall give an order for the search of any houses, papers, and 



MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 335 

other effects of the inhabitants of the Republic, except in the cases expressly provi- 
ded for by law, and in thu form which it designates. 

153. No inhabitant of the Republic shall be compelled to take an oath relative to 
his own acts in criminal aHairs. 

15-4. The military and ecck-siastics will remain subject to the authority under 
which they actually are, accurdin^j to the e.xisling law.s, 

155. No suit can be instituted, neither in civil or criminal cases, for injuries, with- 
out being able to prove, having legally attempted, the means of conciliation. 

15G. None can be deprived ol'thc right of terminating his differences by means of 
arbitrators appointed by each party, whatever may be the situation of the con- 
troversv. 

Title 6th. Section 1st. — Of the individual ^overriment of the States. 

157. The government of each Siale s iall be divided for its exercise in ih'-ee pow- 
ers, Legislative, Executive, and Judicial, and never can be united two or more of 
these in one corporation or person, nor the Legislature deposited in one individual. 

158. The legislative power of each State shall reside in tne Legislature, composed 
of the number of individuals which their respective constitutions may determine, to 
be elected popularly and removable, in the time and manner which said conslitutiona 
mav designate. 

159. The person or persons in whom the States confide their executive power, 
cannot exercise it except for a definite lime, which shall be fixed by their respectivo 
constitutions. 

160. The Judicial power of each State shall be exercised by the Tribunals that 
the Constitution may esiablish or designate, and all cases, civil or criminal, which 
appertain to the cognizance of those tribunals, shall be terminated in them to final 
judgment and executioa. 

Section 2d. — Of the ohligations of the States, 

161. Each one of the States is obliged— First, to organize its interior government 
and administration, without opposing thi.- Constitution nor the constitutional act. 
Second, to publish, by means of their Governors, their respective Constitutions, laws, 
and decrees. Third, to obey, and cau.se to be obeyed, the constitution and general 
laws of the Union, and treaties made, and those that henceforward may be made, by 
the supreme authority of the Federation with any foreign Power. Fourth, to pro- 
tect its inhabitants in the free use and liberty which they have to write, print, and 
publish their political ideas, without the necessity of licence, revision, or approbation 
previous to publication, always taking care to observe the general laws on the sub- 
ject. Fifth, to deliver immediately, the criminals of other states, to the authority 
which reclaims them. Sixth, to deliver the fugitives of other states, to the person 
that justly reclaims them, or compel them in some other mode to satisfv the inte- 
rested party. Seventh, to contribute for the consolidation and extinguishment of 
the debts acknowledged by the general Congress. Eighth, to remit annually to each 
one of the Houses of Congress, a general, circumstantial, and comprehensive note, of 
the ingre.ss and egress in all the Treasuries they may have in their respective dis- 
tricts, with a relation of the origin of one and the othfr, of the situation in which are 
found the branches of industry, agriculture, commerce, ad manufactures, of the 
new branches of industry which they can introduce and extend, designating the 
means by which it can be obtained, and of their respective population and means of 
protecting and augmenting it. Ninth, to remit to both Houses, and in their recesa. 
to the Council of Government, and likewise to the Supreme E.xecutive Power, au- 
thorized copies of the Constitutions, laws, and decrees. 

Section '.id. — Restrictions of the Powers of the State. 

162. None of the Slates can — First, 'siahlish, without the consent of the general 
Congress, any tonna2e duly, nor o'her post duty. Second, impose, without the con- 
sent of the general Congress, contributions or duties on importations or exportation?, 
whilst the law does not regulate it as it must do. Third, hold, at no time, a perma- 
nent troop nor vessels of war, without the consent of the general Congress Fourth, 
enter into any agreement or compact with any foreign power, nor declare war against 
them, resisting in case of actual invasion, or in such danger as will not admit of de- 
lay, giving immediate notice thereof to the President of the Rp[)ublic. Fifth, enter 
into an agreement or compact with otlier States of the Federation, without the 
previous consent of the general CoTigress cr its posterior approbation, if the transac- 
tion was upon the rp."ulation of limits. 

Title 7th. Only Se('tmin.— n/ the observance, interpretation, and amendment 
of the (Jon^ti^ution and Covstitntioval Jict. • 

163. Every public functionary, without exception to the class, previous to entering 
on the discharge of his duties, must take the oath to obey the Constitution and Con 
stitutional Act. 

164. The Congress shall dictate all laws and decrees, which they may deenj nece»- 



336 



MEXICAN CONSTITUTION. 



sary to render effective, the responsibility of those who violate this Constitution or 
the Constitutional Act. 

165. I'he general Congress alone can resolve doubts, which may occur about the 
meaning or understanding of the Articles of this Constitution and of the Constitu- 
tional Act. 

166. The Legislatures of the States can make such observations as they may deem 
proper about particular Articles of this Constitution and the Constitutional Act, but 
the general Congress v/ill not take them into consideration until the year 1830. 

167. The Congress in that year shall confine itself to examining the observations 
that merit the deliberation of the next Congress, and this declaration they shall 
communicate to the President, who shall publish and circulate them without any 
observations. 

168. The following Congress in the first year of its ordinary sessions, shall occupy 
themselves in examining these observations submitted to their deliberation, in 
order to make such amendments as may be deemed necessary, but the same 
Congress which makes the examination, provided in the last Article, cannot decree 
the amendments. 

169. The amendments and additions that are proposed in the year following, tho 
30th shall be taken into consideration by the Congress, in the second year of each 
biennial, and if rendered necessary, in conformity with the provisions made in the 
preceding Article, they shall publish this resolution, in order that the next Congress 
may notice them. 

170. In order to reform or amend this Constitntion or the Constitutional Act, shall 
be observed, besides the rules prescribed in the foregoing Articles, all the requisites 
provided for the formation of laws, excepting the right to make observations granted 
to tho President, in Article 106. 

171. The Articles of this Constitution and the Constitutional Act which establishes 
the Liberty and Independence of the Mexican Nation, its Religion, form of Govern- 
ment, Liberty of the Press, and division of the Supreme Powers of the Federation, 
and of the States, can never be reformed. ■^ 

Given in Mexico, 4th October, 1824, fourth yearof Independence, third of Liberty, 
and second of the Federation. 
Signed by the members of Congress, and the Supreme Executive Power. 



THE END. 



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